The tale of PCMB

Well, we are four friends….PCMB! Friends from the day we first went to school. We studied in the same school, same class and went to school together except for M who always was separated from us. But, nevertheless, we were always interacting with M whenever we got a chance. It was, perhaps, in class 9^th or 8^th that circumstances forced the rest three of us apart. We were treated separately as P and C and B and M.  After 10^th somewhere we got a chance to be together although as separate entities but somewhere either of B or M had to permanently separate out from the other two. Our PCM ‘combination’ was the most feared one which led our generous masters to a place called IIT or NIT. Similarly, the other ‘combination’ of the three of us PCB led our masters to a place called AIIMS or GMC. The most generous of masters (who were kind enough to keep all four of us together) opted for our ‘combination’ called PCMB. These masters of PCMB would most probably land in an NIT or if they were in love with B, they could end up at a GMC.

We are Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics – the four pillars of basic sciences. Mostly studied as separate subjects in mainstream studies, these subjects are often studied together in Engineering, Pharmaceutical, Medical and Higher studies. While we have Biochemistry as a pretty established subject, Biophysics is a relatively new interdisciplinary subject and that too with a huge scope. Most of us feel Mathematics and Biology are always at loggerheads but the inter-disciplinary subjects like Biometrics, Bioinformatics have dealt a death blow to this notion. In fact, in the field of Bio-Chemical engineering you have to apply all the knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics as well as Biology for a common cause! The common perception in the minds of students and parents alike is that PCM leads to Engineers and PCB leads to Doctors, but the scope of these subjects is way beyond these two professions -the vistas only need to be explored meticulously.

According to the latest assessment made by the UGC, while as there is 86% enrolment at Graduate level in the country’s higher education institutions, only 12% of these students go on to complete their post-graduation. And a mere one per cent opts for further research. This includes just a few thousand PhDs in Science (3742), a thousand in Engineering (1000) and just 337 in medicine in 2010-11. This, in a country with a population of more than a billion! One of the reasons may, well, be the Postgrads opting for foreign universities for research because of better research facilities as well as better financial assistance.

Research is the thrust area for the academia around the world and rightly so. There are various issues confronting the humanity that need to be solved and in research, lies the way out. Newer supposedly ‘incurable’ diseases, ever increasing quantity of wastes, contamination of water bodies, environmental pollution are just a few of them. If all the students run after jobs with lucrative salary packages just after graduation, who is going to attend the burning issues. Well, as they say, you can’t buy everything with money!

In future, if there is no research in medical sciences your money would be of no use if you fall into a supposedly ‘incurable’ disease. If no waste management techniques are developed you would probably have to have a room or maybe an extra house for wastes. If no concrete research based mechanisms are developed for saving the contaminated water bodies, your eyes would probably be longing to see a scenic lake. If we allow environment to get polluted at the rate as it is, we would probably want to buy a pound of fresh air than a ‘pound’ of gold, in the future!

Wishing all those trying to master PCM or PCB or PCMB good luck and a better future!