The author needs to look at the Ph.D.degree in its right perspective. The European concept of a Ph.D. is that this degree holder has made an original contribution to the existing knowledge and has proved himself to be an independent scientific research worker capable of tackling serious scientific problems and later guide research.The Russian equivalent of Ph.D. reflects this spirit more accurately -the degree is " candidate in Science/Technology". Meaning he is just entering the field of research. He is not addressed as a "Doctor", which is reserved for only the "D.Sc." Each one of these have a distinct connotation . It must be remembered that there is no equivalence as how many MTech. projects are equal to a Ph.D. and how many Ph.D.theses make up to a D.Sc. # A Ph.D. dissertation is " defended" and that is the spirit. # The autor may be disillusioned with the spate of Ph.D.s coming out in India after the UGC stipulation- also on trivial subjects ,which do not merit themes for Ph.D.level research. But then the fault lies with the falling standards of Indian Univs. The author has thought of Ph.D. as an examination on current technology topics. # There is a difference in the European and American approach on Ph.D.s. In older Universities like Uppsala (Sweden) there is a tradition of presenting the Ph.D.thesis, since the days when Martin Luther "nailed" the new testament to the Univ.gate!
