Venkat Raman
Younger members of country should revolutionise the landscape of Indian Science, Technology and Innovation, Prime Minister Narender Modi said in the South Indian city of Bengaluru on Friday, January 3, 2020.
The growth story of India depends on its achievements in the Science & Technology sector, he said.
“My motto for the young scientists bourgeoning in this country has been -”Innovate, Patent, Produce and Prosper. These four steps will lead our country towards faster development. If we innovate, we will patent and that in turn will make our production smoother and when we take these products to the people of our country, they will prosper. Innovation for the people and by the people is the direction of our New India,” he said.
Mr Modi was speaking at the inaugural session of the 107th Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru, which he said, is a city linked to Science, Technology and Innovation.
Technology in agriculture
He said that there is need for revolution in technologies assisting agricultural practices.
“Can we find farmer-centric solutions to the problem of stalk burning for instance? Can we also redesign our brick kilns for reduced emissions and greater energy efficiency?” he asked and said, “We need to find better and faster solutions to the problem of clean drinking water supplies around the country.”
“How do we prevent effluents and discharge from industries from ruining our soil and our groundwater tables for years to come?
Positivity and Optimism
Mr Modi described starting Year 2020 with positivity and optimism of science and technology driven development, India was taking one step in fulfilling its dream.
“I have been told that India has climbed to third position globally in the number of peer reviewed science and engineering publications. It is also growing at a rate of about 10% compared to around 4% global average. I am also happy to learn that India’s ranking has improved in the Innovation Index to 52. Our programmes have created more technology business incubators in the last five years than in the previous 50 years!” he said.
Easing of doing Science
Mr Modi that his government was continuing efforts to ensure the ‘Ease of doing Science,’ and effectively using Information Technologies to reduce red tape.
“Today, farmers are able to sell their products directly to the market without being at the mercy of the middlemen. Digitalisation, E-commerce, internet banking and mobile banking services are assisting rural populations significantly. Farmers are getting the required information about the weather and forecasts at their fingertips through many e-governance initiatives,” he said.
Make In India initiative
Mr Modi said that the ‘Make in India’ initiative should be used in medical devices to bring the fruits of advances in diagnostics to the people in India.
“Our vision should be to protect people from the threats of dangerous communicable diseases like Nipah, Ebola and others. We must work overtime to fulfil the promise to eradicate Tuberculosis by 2025. Globally, India is the leader in the supply of vaccines. We aim to develop India as a world-class, US$100 billion Bio-manufacturing hub by 2024. This will happen with right policy initiatives and support to innovative research, human resource development and entrepreneurial ecosystem,” he said.
Environment-friendly transportation
Mr Modi said that India must develop a long term roadmap for sustainable and environment friendly transportation and energy storage options.
“The latter becomes increasingly significant for grid management as we expand our renewal energy supply. These require developing new battery types which are based on earth abundant, environmentally benign materials which are not monopolistic, are affordable on hundreds of giga watt scales, and suitable for tropical climates,” he said.
Stating that the economic and social benefits of accurate weather and climate forecasting are immense, he said that there have been considerable improvements in weather forecast and warning services especially in case of Tropical cyclones.
“This is evident from large reduction in casualties. Our successes in space exploration should now be mirrored in the new frontier of the deep sea. We need to explore, map and responsibly harness the vast oceanic resources of water, energy, food and minerals. This requires developing deep strengths in manned submersibles, deep sea mining systems and autonomous underwater vehicles,” he said.
Mr Modi said improvements in this sector should be possible through the ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ being formulated by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at the 107th Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru on January 3, 2020 (PMO Picture)
