Khan and Iqbal (1990) proposed that the basic philosophy of progress in our country is the dream of a socialistic pattern of society. There is general consensus upon the goals envisaged in our planning i.e. a rapid rise in the standard of living of the common man. It is also accepted that this rise in material prosperity can be brought about only in a technological milieu of rapid industrialization and instant communication. Such a scenario will naturally put a great responsibility on the engineers for it is they, who apply their knowledge and judgment for the optimum utilization of avail, able resources to accelerate the pace for progress and prosperity. To shoulder this immense responsibility the engineers will need to be prepared to face the challenges of future development in technology.

It is estimated that the progress made in science and technology in the 20th century is more than the progress made in the entire history of human civilization. The engineers will therefore need to keep a clear vision of the future trends in technology.

In today's fast moving technological flux it is dangerous to make any prediction for the future. Nevertheless certain trends can be safely identified.

First the world is rapidly shrinking. More and more people will be travelling utilizing faster, safer and better systems. This will usher in an era of novel and bold technologies e.g. super fast trains, supersonic jet, water transport system, traffic system organization etc. Computers, telecommunication, satellite and remote sensing techniques and a wide array of information technology will be commonly available.

The teaching and learning methodologies will also undergo major changes both in outlook as well as in implementation. Today students spend a lot of their valuable time in rote learn and cramming raw data in their minds. The difference between information knowledge and wisdom is not appreciated by the educationists. With the advent of computers and easy access to information technology there will be less need for cramming and more time and effort will be spent on thinking and analyzing.

Faster communication and information systems will become a powerful vehicle for transmission of ideas and for interaction among people in distant place. In the words of Arther Clarke "ours has become the last century of the savage. For all mankind, the stone age is over".

In several fields e.g. agriculture, chemical engineering, biotechnology new research findings will usher an era of unprecedented progress and prosperity. Mankind will no longer suffer pangs of hunger nor the scourge of deprivation. Green revolution, wonder drugs and general abundance of material goods will benefit everybody and not just the elite. In short in each and every area of human Endeavour technological progress will bring in far reaching developments.

But this will also add to the responsibilities of the technocrats and managers. In such a technological milieu it will be essential that all system work in perfect harmony. The penalty for any inefficiency and incompetence will be severe and the breakdown of any system will wreak untold misery on the people. The recent Bhopal tragedy is a powerful reminder to the technocrats and the managers that human attitudes will need to be upgraded corresponding to the progress in Science and Technology. Even in the developed countries e.g. USSR, U.S A. similar accidents happen with a disturbing frequency. The irony is that many of these accidents go unreported and thus opportunity for learning valuable lessons and building a data bank on case histories is lost.

Sampath (1989) has discussed the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility of Scientists, technologists and managements
Natural resources are generally divided into different parts depending on the time scale related to their use. They are -
  1. Expandable or constant flow resources.
  2. Renewable resources.
  3. Depletable or exhaustible resources.

Expandable (Continuous flow) Resources: - The main feature is that use at one particular point of time will not affect the amount that can be used in the future and exhibit continuous flows, through time. Agricultural products, solar radiation and the waves in the tides, the ability of the environment to absorb non-persistent pollution etc may be assumed as examples.

Renewable Resources: - The essential feature of renewable resources is that they can be increased as well as decreased. It will increase if the stock is allowed to regenerate. However, there is a maximum stock: no renewable resource can regenerate to the levels above the carrying capacity of the ecosystem in which it exists. An obvious example of this kind of resources is a forest or a single species of fish. Use of such resources today usually affects future utilization possibilities. This means that the rational utilization policy must take into account the time dimension during which the resources are regenerated. Biologically regenerating resources are often characterized by emphasizing that they are ‘renewable but exhaustible’. This refers to minimum variable population size. Harvesting a population smaller in size or harvesting over and above its potential only cause ‘extinction’ (i.e. if the rate of harvest exceeds the natural growth of the resources).

Non-renewable Resources: - In this case the inter-temporal sum of the services provided by a given stock of exhaustible resources is finite. This definition highlights the importance of the long term perspective. The resource will be depleted so long as the use rate and the harvest rate is positive. The central economic problem of these resources is thus how to allocate their fixed amount inter temporally that is between different points over time or between different generations.

Table 1 shows example of all these three kinds of natural resources. Among these three kinds of natural resources we will now concentrate over optimal use of renewal resources.