Technological breakthroughs and inventions have altered lives and livelihoods of  human beings since time immemorial.Those inventions which occurred early in the history of the human race include the practice of agriculture, the invention of the wheel and many others. I have often said in jest that the use of wheels in luggage that we use for travel is as significant as the invention of the wheel itself. Indeed, it was not more than three or four decades ago that luggage had to be carried, and porters at railways stations and airports derived a livelihood on that account. Today modern luggage comes with wheels that eliminate the need for carrying bags by hand. The point being made is that while advances in science and technology have led to new products, processes, and technologies, often these do not necessarily benefit a large number of people and very often concepts and scientific developments do not get translated into applications that would benefit human life immediately. The invention of the camera had to wait several centuries because even though the basic principle and structure of a camera was developed by the Arab scientist Ibn Al-Haytham who lived around 1000 AD, the application of this principle had to wait several centuries till a compound of silver was discovered which was sensitive to light and therefore permitted images to be created based on the light it received from a particular object.

When it comes to light bulbs indeed it was Thomas Alva Edison who invented this device but even today 1.3 billion people in the world have no access to electricity and, therefore, do not have a light bulb in their homes. This situation, however, is changing rapidly with the advent of renewable energy technologies and their application. TERI has launched its major programme called Lighting a Billion Lives, which relies on the use of solar lanterns powered by photovoltaic devices and the use of micro-grids connected with a small number of village homes which receive electricity from a photovoltaic panel installed and managed by a local entrepreneur. An important point to bear in mind with technological innovation that may percolate through the structure of human society is to ensure that there are either no negative externalities or that these are addressed adequately to see that technological innovation does not lead to major damage or degradation say to the environment, the earth's ecosystems and the stock of natural resources. In the past such considerations have not been taken into account while promoting the advances of science and technology through new products and processes. The result of these has been several problems such as human induced climate change, which is the result of an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the case of human health as well, DDT was regarded as essential to the elimination of malaria, but in most parts of the world this chemical has been banned because of other negative externalities that its use involves.

However, human minds will always innovate in the future, and as a result dreams will be converted into reality, hopefully resulting in an enhancement of human welfare at lower intensity of use of resources. Innovation and the advances of science and technology are inherent characteristics of human endeavour but these would now have to be directed towards the overall objectives of sustainable development. Scientists to that extent are going to be accountable to society at large, and therefore a new compact has to be developed between the scientific community and society, represented by diverse stakeholders.