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One of the classic examples is the "Green revolution" in India. In 1943, four million people died of hunger that year alone in eastern India because of Bengal Famine. With the back drop of acute food shortage India got independence in 1947. India primarily an agrarian economy was importing food to feed its half a billion population. India fought two wars in 1962 and 1965 with China and Pakistan respectively, an additional burden of cost of food import and drought slide India into national crisis. The then prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, C Subramanuim (Then Agriculture minister) and Indira Gandhi steered an ambitious plan for a revolution. The introduction of agricultural technology development of new strains of high yield value (HYV) seeds, mainly wheat and rice but also millet and corn. The most noteworthy HYV seed was the K68 variety for wheat. From year 1967-70 numbers of tractors increased to almost 5 times so do irrigation pumps and tube wells. Land reforms supported by modern irrigation technology resulted in a record grain output of 131 million tons in 1978-79. This recognized India as one of the world's biggest agricultural producers. Yield per unit of farmland improved by more than 30 per cent between 1947 (when India gained political independence) and 1979. Agricultural income increased and fueled the growth in manufacturing. Not only Indian became a food surplus nation but also paid back all loans it had taken from the World Bank and its affiliates for the purpose of the Green Revolution. Today India export agricultural produce. Green revolution should be implemented by other developing and underdeveloped countries as a strategy to counter poverty. Science indeed is the answer.

Green revolution was initiative taken by the government; there are many non governmental organizations and institutions across globe doing scientific inventions which in its own terms are no less than a revolution. It's revolutionizing not only by inventing new technologies for economic and social development but also evolving the conscience of many to participate in mission for helping those who need us. Kanchan has been one of the initiatives in this direction in rural Nepal. In 2002, MIT, ENPHO, and RWSSSP have developed the KanchanTM Arsenic filter; it is designed to treat arsenic and/or microbial contaminated tube well water in rural Terai in household level. The KAF can be constructed by trained local technicians using locally available materials such as iron nails, sand, gravel, plastic buckets, and PVC pipes, one-year pilot study from 2002-2003 showed higher acceptance and technical performance. 30 arsenic-affected Village Development Committees (VDC) from Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Rautahat, Parsa and Bara has been a great success. Over 2000 filters have been distributed by various national and international agencies, serving in excess of 15,000 rural populations. Kanchan reflects humble solution to mammoth problem of safe drinking water.

Sunlabob based in Laos is an organization specializing in sales and installation of renewable energy systems (PV, heating, hydro, wind and biogas). Sunlabob also assists organization to establish an energy management system. It has sold several communities solar units; Sunlabob is also active in Hybrid village grid units. Sunlabob creates a rental fund resulting of not existing financial institutions in Lao PDR so far. It installs community operated energy systems, which falls into two categories: a) Systems for providing services in the public interest of the whole village (lighting for schoolhouses, cooling for vaccines in the health post, etc), and b) Systems that allow productive use of the energy (for instance for running a community pump for drip-irrigation systems). These Rental Energy systems are the future for the wide dispersal of solar systems in rural areas and empower cottage and village industries by providing affordable and sustainable alternative.

I read this encouraging story of Njenga and Mary Kimani of Central Kenya; they live on a small plot of land along with their 3 children. They saw a high local demand for tree seedlings and decided to start a small tree nursery next to a busy road. But using buckets to water the seedlings from a stream was backbreaking work. Buying a tube well was an expensive proposition with low economic sense for a small piece of land. One fine day they came across Kickstart manual pumps, they saved money to buy the pump and with it they tripled the size of their nursery in less than 3 months. These pumps are developed by KickStart; it develops technologies and tools to eradicate poverty. KickStart's MoneyMaker pump was introduced in September 1996. This small treadle operated pump could pull water from as deep as 23 feet (7m) and be used to furrow irrigate up to two acres of land. Thousands of farmers are irrigating with KickStart's manual irrigation pumps in Kenya, Tanzania & Mali. The official data says use of 45,000 pumps have created 29,000 new waged jobs, $37 million per year in new profits and wages generated by the pumps and more than 50% of pumps managed by women entrepreneurs.

The list seems endless and so the courage and the will of few who have pledged to make poverty history. Their strength is their conviction and belief in humble scientific solutions to colossal problems. Science which has been the capitalist's chattels has fast becoming Poor's savior. This transition though is slow but bring itself lot of hope and dignity.