The scientists need not wait for a government initiative but should initiate action on their own to update the Science and Technology Plan and create public opinion for its implementation, Bharat Ratna recipient C Subramaniam, who was also minister for science and technology and food in the 1960s, said here on Saturday.

In an informal chat with newsmen at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), after addressing a gathering got up to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the registration of the foundation, the architect of India's green revolution said, "The US sanctions in the wake of the nuclear tests should be taken as an opportunity to regroup our human resources and gather together our financial resources, build on food security through sustainable agriculture in rainfed areas and embark onpursuit of self-reliant industrial technology."

About the nuclear tests, he said, "This is one of the greatest achievements of the scientific community and it shows the quality of top-level scientists in the country. Whenever there was a national challenge, the scientific community has helped the nation to find answers - right from the green revolution to the supercomputer," he said.

"Except in industrial technology, India is technologically capable as any other nation and India can achieve great heights in this field also if manpower and resources are put together. The present crisis should be the right occasion to do that," he said. By the time the country reaches its diamond jubilee of independence "we can project a new, more independent India", he added.