Science & Technology Needs to be Core of the Economic Development Says Kapil Sibal

Science and technology should be at the heart of economic development if the country is to achieve the growth rate between 8 to 9 per cent. This was stated by the Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal while briefing the media person on the three years achievements of his Ministry here today. He said that this requires well planned and focused strategy to make available to the people of India, especially the disadvantaged, all the benefits that science and technology can confer.

Speaking on the occasion, the Shri Sibal said that the three major legislations will change the way the things are being done. These are Survey of India Bill for restructuring of the Department, Public Funded R&D Bill for Protection, Utilization & Regulation of Intellectual Property and Medical Devices Regulation Bill. He said the foundation stone for a modern India is being laid where S&T will touch the lives of common man.

Listing out the achievements of two Ministries namely Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST) and Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) Shri Sibal said that focused programmes and initiatives are mounted that seek to:

1. enhance the quality and quantum of Indian science output by improving the human resource base and R&D infrastructure in academia and publicly funded R&D- FIST programme, Nanotechnology mission, Stem Cell programme, and others,
2. achieve a quantum jump in human resources for R&D by motivating students from the school stage to post-graduate level to take up career in science and research, INSPIRE programme and others,
3. nurture and retain research talent in academia and publicly funded R&D by assured career progression, providing them a share of the benefits arising from their intellectual pursuits, mobility, nationally and internationally and for women scientists facility to rejoin the mainstream of R&D after a break period and other similar schemes,
4. enhancing the utilization and deployment of scientific endevours and outputs by youth through schemes such as Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI), Fund for Accelerating Start-ups in Technology (FAST), Technology Business Incubators and the like.
5. synergizing the competencies of the private sector and the National System of Innovation through vigorous public private endevours such as Pharmaceutical R&D Support Fund, TDB, NMITLI and establishment of Shared Facilities such as Agri-Food and Bio-technology clusters, Advanced Aeronautics and the like,
6. developing bilateral S&T cooperation and relationships with more developed countries such as USA, EU, UK, Russia, Australia, Canada, Israel, Korea, etc on the basis of equality and partnership to realize mutually beneficial values,
7. providing the people of India all the benefits that science and technology can confer such as a user friendly Map Policy that will facilitate deployment of GIS in every day life, weather channel for weather forecast, agromet and fishery advisory services, Tsunami warning system, development of slew of vaccines for deployment in public health systems, low temperature thermal desalination technology for sea water, and other similar endevours.

Shri Kapil Sibal said “the challenge is daunting and the task mammoth, this is a beginning and we have miles to go – but our resolve is firm and our sight unwavering. We are confident that we shall succeed in realizing the vision of India, a developed country by 2020”. The salient initiatives and achievements are as follows:

Legislative

• Survey of India Bill for restructuring of the Department
• Public Funded R&D Bill for Protection, Utilization & Regulation of Intellectual Property
• Medical Devices Regulation Bill

Policy

• Map Policy
• National Bio-technology Development Strategy
• Formation of Ministry of Earth Sciences

International Cooperation

• Indo-US S&T Agreement
• Indo-EU Cooperation
• Indo-German Science Cooperation
• Indo-UK Science & Innovation Council
• Australia-India Strategic Research Fund
• India-Israel Initiative
• India-ASEAN Cooperation

Technological

• Nanotechnology Mission
• Bamboo Application Mission
• Stem Cell Initiative
• Low Temperature Thermal Desalination
• Small Capacity Aircraft- SARAS and HANSA
• Water quality Improvement Technologies (RO, Ultra-filtration, Ceramic Filters, etc)
• Disaster Warning Dissemination system-Geneva Technologies
• Vaccines & Diagnostics

Infrastructural

• Modernization of IMD
• Tsunami Warning System
• National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)
• 3RD Antarctica Station at Larsemann Hills
• Centre for Earth Quake Precursor studies
• BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate
• 3-D GIS system for Chandni Chowk
• Microzonation of major cities
• Centre for Climate Change Research
• UNESCO Centre for Bio-technology

Public-Private-Partnership

• NMITLI (SUDOTERB, BIOSUITE, MOBILIS)
• Launch of a Weather Channel
• Weather Forecast system for Commonwealth Games-2010
• Global Innovation & Technology Alliance: DST-CII
• Small Business Innovation Research Initiative
• Bio-tech and Agrifood Cluster at Mohali
• Advanced Aeronautics at NAL

Human Resource Development

• INSPIRE/SHE / SEAT
• Mobility
• Women Scientists
• Upgradation of colleges and departments

Source : Press Information Bureau
Date : May 31, 2007