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It is a matter of concern that science departments in India's vast university system have suffered greatly due to lack of investments, both material and in terms of faculty.

If I could snap my fingers and do one thing in science, I would get more funding for basic science. But the level of funding that needs to be done is not on the order of millions, like the cost of the Breakthrough Prizes. It's billions to tens of billions.

The idea that science is just some luxury that you'll get around to if you can afford it is regressive to any future a country might dream for itself.

Much of Indian science seems intuitive and not bound by the rigid thinking of classical scientists.

So now, if we don't fund the physical sciences, where will the Next Big Thing come from?

The frontiers of science, on the very small scale and very large scale, require large investments and international effort.

I am sick and tired of the process where everybody tells you that Indian companies don't have the technology and capability. We need to put money where our mouth is and make things happen, and that is what we are trying to do.

There is actually a fair amount of money being put behind science today.

There's almost too much venture capital in India - there are issues with seed capital, but for venture capital, there's a lot money chasing deals here.

Bioscience and biotech offer many opportunities. The U.S. focuses on the rich man; India has rich man diseases and poor man diseases. So you have a much larger set of opportunities.