36% of scientists at Nasa are Indians: Govt survey

[ashfaque]

36% of scientists at Nasa are Indians: Govt survey-India-The Times of India

11 Mar 2008, 0004 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: If you thought that Global Indian Takeover was just a hollow cliche leaning on a few iconic successes like Pepsi's Indra Nooyi, Citibank's Vikram Pandit and steel world's Lakshmi Mittal, there is a slew of statistics now to give it solid ballast.

The extent to which desis have made an impact in the US was reeled off in the Rajya Sabha — as many as 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, and in Nasa, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians.

If that's not proof enough of Indian scientific and corporate prowess, digest this: 34% employees at Microsoft, 28% at IBM, 17% at Intel and 13% at Xerox are Indians.

And the House of Elders also heard some startling facts about a country that's still stuck with a Third World tag — 20% of gold in the world is used by Indians and nine out of 10 diamonds used in the world are made in India.

The figures of Indian successes were given to the Rajya Sabha on Monday by D Purandeshwari, minister of state for HRD, in defence of the country's higher education system and the state of research.

Purandeshwari said that although a lot needed to be done to encourage research, it was wrong to run down the country's higher education system since most Indians who excelled abroad were products of Indian institutions.

He said there was no slackness in research and the number of PhD holders had gone up from 17,898 two years back to 18,730 last year.

The minister also listed initiatives taken to encourage research, especially in science. Apart from creating 1,000 positions of research scientists at various levels, she said draft norms to create 10 networking centres in basic sciences in leading departments of universities were being prepared. It would help in promoting collaborative research and give access to advanced facilities.

Also, all postgraduate programmes pertaining to science and technology would have an in-built component of research. The University Grants Commission is also identifying performing universities so that they can be given 50 fellowships to carry out research in basic sciences.

 

[BATMAN]

Would you care to tell how many were hired after 9/11?
After few years they will not be Indians any more!
Why don't you suggest DRDO to hire Indian scientists and not Israelis.

 

[A.Rahman]

They are of Dual nationality, American-Indian.

 

[ashfaque]

They are of Dual nationality, American-Indian.

24.6% of all Asian Indians in America are natural born citizens.
45.8% of all Indians that are foreign-born and non-citizens.
Now many conclusions can be derived.

Also there is huge scarcity of H1B visa for Indian companies, though they manage to get major chunk of H1B every year.

 

[Bushroda]

This is basically an internet spam which has been doing rounds for several years and now it has found its mention in the leading Indian daily. The facts mentioned are not true. Although there is a substantial percentage of Indians working in NASA but no way as high as 36%.

Indian newspapers don't often check facts initially - like the guy who topped the NASA exams. Later TOI's Chidananda Rajghatta investigated the "facts" and found them to be untrue. Both Microsoft and IBM have denied those numbers.

 

[Titanium]

36% of scientists at Nasa are Indians: Govt survey-India-The Times of India
.

The extent to which desis have made an impact in the US was reeled off in the Rajya Sabha — as many as 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, and in Nasa, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians.

If that's not proof enough of Indian scientific and corporate prowess, digest this: 34% employees at Microsoft, 28% at IBM, 17% at Intel and 13% at Xerox are Indians.

.

No comment from me..............BUT,

The truth is, about 5% of NASA’s employees are of Asian descent (Indians being a subset of this group). A senior official at Microsoft grins rather condescendingly when you ask him the truth. As for Indian doctors tending to all of America, well, all we can say is that the Indian inferiority complex that spreads these myths needs urgent cure.

INDIA POISED

 

[Spring Onion]

36% of scientists at Nasa are Indians: Govt survey-India-The Times of India

11 Mar 2008, 0004 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: If you thought that Global Indian Takeover was just a hollow cliche leaning on a few iconic successes like Pepsi's Indra Nooyi, Citibank's Vikram Pandit and steel world's Lakshmi Mittal, there is a slew of statistics now to give it solid ballast.

The extent to which desis have made an impact in the US was reeled off in the Rajya Sabha — as many as 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, and in Nasa, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians.

And here it is Times of India terming the claims by the Minister as False and and an attempt to make Indian Govt a laughing stock.
---------------

India rising in US: Govt falls victim to net hoax
12 Mar 2008, 0010 hrs IST,Chidanand Rajghatta,TNN




WASHINGTON: It's an Internet myth that has taken on a life of its own. No matter how often you slay this phony legend, it keeps popping up again like some hydra-headed beast.

But on Monday, the Indian government itself consecrated the oft-circulated fiction as fact in Parliament, possibly laying itself open to a breach of privilege. By relaying to Rajya Sabha members (as reported in The Times of India) a host of unsubstantiated and inflated figures about Indian professionals in US, the government also made a laughing stock of itself.

The figures provided by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Purandeshwari included claims that 38 per cent of doctors in US are Indians, as are 36 per cent of NASA scientists and 34 per cent of Microsoft employees.

There is no survey that establishes these numbers, and absent a government clarification, it appears that the figures come from a shop-worn Internet chain mail that has been in circulation for many years. Spam has finally found its way into the Indian parliament dressed up as fact.

Attempts by this correspondent over the years to authenticate the figures have shown that it is exaggerated, and even false. Both Microsoft and NASA say they don't keep an ethnic headcount. While they acknowledge that a large number of their employees are of Indian origin, it is hardly in the 30-35 per cent range.

In a 2003 interview with this correspondent, Microsoft chief Bill Gates guessed that the number of Indians in the engineering sections of the company was perhaps in the region of 20 per cent, but he thought the overall figure was not true. NASA workers say the number of Indians in the organization is in the region of 4-5 per cent, but the 36 per cent figure is pure fiction.

The number of physicians of Indian-origin in the US is a little easier to estimate. The Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has 42,000 members, in addition to around 15,000 medical students and residents. There were an estimated 850,000 doctors in the US in 2004. So, conflating the figures, no more than ten per cent of the physicians in US maybe of Indian-origin – and that includes Indian-Americans – assuming not everyone is registered with AAPI.

These numbers in themselves are remarkable considering Indians constitute less than one per cent of the US population. But in its enthusiasm to spin the image of the successful global Indian to its advantage, the government appears to have milked a long-discredited spam - an effort seen by some readers as the work of a lazy bureaucrat and an inept minister.

The story has attracted withering scrutiny and criticism on the Times of India's website, with most readers across the world trashing it.

"The minister should be hauled up by the house for breach of privilege of parliament (by presenting false information based on hearsay). We Indians are undoubtedly one of the most successful ethnic groups in USA, be it in Medicine, Engineering, Entrepreneurship. BUT, that does not translate to those ridiculous numbers that have been presented....this is a circulating e-mail hoax," wrote in Soumya from USA, who said he worked at the NASA facility in Ames, California, and the number was nowhere near what was mentioned in the figures given to Parliament.

"This minister (D.Purandeshwari, Minister of State for HRD)... should be held accountable for misleading the members of parliament and the citizens of India. This just shows how illiterate and mentally defunct the current Indian govt. is," wrote Anand from Melbourne.

Purandeshwari is not the first minister to use the dubious figures in a system where politicians depend heavily on their bureaucrats to furnish facts, figures, and speeches. Former home minister L.K.Advani used the same figures in a speech some years back on a visit to Washington DC.


India rising in US: Govt falls victim to net hoax-USA-World-The Times of India

 

[Mustapha]

Assalamulaykum,

Dude, what do you want from us?

All I can say is Mas'allah and good job to the Indians.

Allah Hafiz

 

[A.Rahman]

Assalamulaykum,

Dude, what do you want from us?

All I can say is Mas'allah and good job to the Indians.

Allah Hafiz

its not true, read the above post

 

[Mustapha]

Assalamulaykum,

Alright, I see...

LOL...so much for the Propaganda!

Allah Hafiz

 

[Neo]

Thanks for sharing the article Jana Jee.
India certainly deserves the status of being an Internet Super Power.

 

[Spring Onion]

Thanks for sharing the article Jana Jee.
India certainly deserves the status of being an Internet Super Power.

But with a reminder that someone is watching them with deep love

 

[asaad-ul-islam]

Leave them alone, if indians like to see themselves as a superpower that will take over the world, so be it.

 

[Always Neutral]

36% of scientists at Nasa are Indians: Govt survey-India-The Times of India

11 Mar 2008, 0004 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: If you thought that Global Indian Takeover was just a hollow cliche leaning on a few iconic successes like Pepsi's Indra Nooyi, Citibank's Vikram Pandit and steel world's Lakshmi Mittal, there is a slew of statistics now to give it solid ballast.

The extent to which desis have made an impact in the US was reeled off in the Rajya Sabha — as many as 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, and in Nasa, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians.

If that's not proof enough of Indian scientific and corporate prowess, digest this: 34% employees at Microsoft, 28% at IBM, 17% at Intel and 13% at Xerox are Indians.

You forgot to add 30 % of the socerers in Harry Potter Land are also Indians. No offense meant.

NASA is not that bankrupt to hand over its space program to Indian / Indians of US origin.

Makes Good Propoganda for the politicians.

Regards



PS : How many politcians in the Indian Parliament have passed 'O' Levels ?

 

[su-47]

thank god if Jana's article is true. if 36% of scientists in NASA are of Indian origin, i find it something to be ashamed of rather than be prousd of.

Firstly, if there are people of indian origin, but american citizenship, working in NASA, our govt has nothing to be proud of. by all means, they are americans not indians.

secondly, even the NASA staff with indian passports are not something india should be very proud of. according to me they fall under the category of brain drain. now i dont see why our govt should boast about brain drain. its the shortcomings of our country that resulted in this brain drain in the first place. so basically, by boasting "36% of NASA scientists are Indian", we are actuially saying' "those people left our country for USA coz our country couldnt pay them enough".

the only good thing of having so many indians abroad is that our lobby in USA is strong. aside from that, our country is losing young, educated minds to the USA. someone should enlighten our govt and tell them this is nothing to be proud of.