Rumours of Shawna Pandya space mission highlights brain drain in developing countries

Reports claimed that Canada born Shawna Pandya will be sent to space by NASA, accompanied by eight other astronauts in 2018. Following the legacy of Kalpana Chawla and Sunita William, she will be the third Indian woman to fly in space. Neurosurgeon by profession, she is an epitome of being an allrounder- she is a singer, author, entrepreneur, International champion in Taekwondo, trained with Navy Seal etc.

 

Dr. Pandya took Facebook to deny the rumours of NASA sending her to space. She clarified that her work is separate from Canadian space agency and NASA, she had interned with NASA in past and has no affiliation with the organization. On the other hand, she acknowledges all the warm wishes that she received all this while.

The fact of the matter is, despite having immense calibre and potential amongst our countrymen, highly skilled and educated people leave the country to work abroad. The desire of seeking higher wages and better working conditions has a negative impact on our economy.

The comparison of NASA and ISRO is lame, NASA has the reputation of worlds prominent and leading space agency with an added advantage of series of successful missions, its highly developed and funded by department of defence. ISRO has managed to create a small share in the pie in the past few years, major issues faced by ISRO is lack of funds and brain drain. Chairman of ISRO Madvan Nair said that despite many successful missions ISRO continues to face shortage of quality scientific brains. However, he gave indications of reverse brain drain in coming few years.

Need of the hour is to preserve quality brain power for the advancement of our nation. ISRO can achieve new heights if it utilizes the contribution of individuals who are worthy of it. Brain drain needs to be seen with a serious concern, “Smart brains need to be preserved, not migrated”.