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‘From the festival of 75 years of independence we march towards a long season of holistic development which will culminate in the centenary of our independence in 2047. What makes our onward march special is our increased dependence and unwavering trust in the employment of scientific knowledge and technology in our developmental endeavours., The Governor said.

‘The challenge before the scientific community, society and government is to strike a balance by finding proper solutions to optimise the use of resources and increase productivity. It is here that radiation technology can be used to optimise the use of material and energy and to improve productivity so as to encourage sustainable development.

Today the application of isotopes has spread in the areas like energy production, industrial diagnostic methods, archaeology, geology, ecology and astronomical sciences. In addition to the use in resource management and food preservation, isotopes are used in diagnosing diseases through 2D and 3D images, in treating diseases and destroying diseased cells. Their use in implantable pacemakers, weather and tsunami warning stations, navigation signal stations, carbon dating of fossils, food preservation and above all, in national security are well known. In medicine the use of radioisotopes has revolutionised the treatments of various types of cancers and other diseases.

Using the techniques of mutation breeding carried out by gamma radiation about 62 varieties of groundnut, moong dal, pigeon pea, cow pea, urad dal, mustard, soya bean, rice, jute sunflower etc have been developed and released for cultivation. Gamma radiation has been actively used for improving the shelf life of different commodities including onion and potatoes. Food preservation technology developed for various items have also been transferred to various farms for commercial deployment. The technology of converting sewage sludge into organic manure has also been developed.

Sustainable development is even more important in a way research and development are not affected and the environment is not degraded or depleted beyond replacement.

Nuclear technology for power production and large bouquet of non-power technologies by the use of radioisotopes and radiations secreted by specialised equipment hold the promise of sustainable development, causing practically no harm to the environment or bio-diversity. Environment is not only preserved by these technologies but it is upgraded too. S.A Bhardwaj said.

P.J Chandy, Secretary NAARRI said that NAARRI founded in 1976 has been instrumental in promoting several atomic energy programs including radiation technology programs for the benefit of the society. ‘The conference in the four days would hold 43 invited talks and 107 presentations covering divergent areas of non-power applications of atomic energy. 20% of the invited speakers are women scientists who played a crucial role in developing nuclear technology,’ he stated.

The convention on its first day held vital scientific periods on the increasing horizons of radiation know-how in India, nuclear methods in meals and agriculture, nuclear know-how past nuclear energy purposes, developments in theragnostic and radiopharmaceuticals manufacturing.

Important periods on radiation security, Human sources, Education and public consciousness may also be held. International exhibition on superior radiation applied sciences is one other spotlight of the occasion.