Distinguished scientist C N R Rao on Wednesday shared his worry that IITs and other premier scientific institutions of India are not paying enough heed to the burning issues being faced by humanity - energy and environment.

Delivering his speech at the Inaugural Institute Lecture on `A Celebration of Science' held at the IIT-Madras, Mr.  Rao urged that every scientist and every engineer could play a role in solving energy and environment issues.

Speaking on the topic, Mr.  Rao said, "Many Indian scientists end up making incremental progress because the topic or problem they chose wasn't ambitious enough.  You should know how to pick a problem. pick a problem that hasn't been solved yet."

He said that using other forms of energy is the biggest problem being faced by humanity, adding that solar and nuclear energy is currently providing only less than 20 per cent of the country's energy needs.

He stressed while science kept changing, which India could not understood.  He urged institutes to provide students with better guidance and understand their needs.

Mr.  Rao, a Bharat Ratna awardee, stressed that youngsters fail only when they are either misunderstood or not given adequate encouragement.