Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today informed that so far, 38 Ministries in Govt of India have sought technology support in different sectors. He said, over 200 proposals/requirements were received from 38 Line Ministries/Departments for Scientific Applications and Technological Support & Solutions by all the six Science & Technology departments including Space and Atomic energy.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that after the unlocking of the Space Sector for private players, Innovative Start-Ups are coming in a big way to explore the untapped potential. He said, more than 50 Start-ups are working in the Space Sector and about 10 of them are having funding of over Rs 50 Crore or more individually. The Minister was happy to note that apart from NAVIC based applications, Start-ups are also working on software solutions for debris management in Space having global ramifications.

The Minister was presiding over a high - level joint meeting of all the Science Ministries and Science Departments at Prithvi Bhawan here. The meeting was attended by Shri Bhaskar Khulbe, Advisor to Prime Minister, Prof. K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India, Dr Shekhar Mande, Secretary CSIR, Dr. M. Ravichandran Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr S. Chandrasekhar, Secretary Department of Science & Technology, Dr Rajesh Gokhale Secretary Department of Biotechnology, Shri S. Somanath, Secretary Space & Chairman ISRO, Dr K.N. Vyas, Secretary Atomic Energy, Hemang Jani, Secretary Capacity Building Commission and other senior officials.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, concerned Science Ministries and Departments are on the job applying different scientific solutions for sectors like agriculture, land mapping, dairy, food, education, skill, railways, roads, Jal Shakti, power, coal and sewage cleaning to name a few. He said, building on from previous such meetings, Joint Working Groups are being set up between Science Departments and Line Ministries to speed up identification of the scientific applications for proposals and problems of Line Ministries.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, with the help of Capacity Building Commission, a template is also being prepared to take up theme wise deliberations between Centre and States/UTs depending on specific needs, from place to place. The Minister said, the first round of meetings involving Science Ministries and Departments from the Centre and all States and UTs has been completed and demands from the States for scientific solutions are being compiled. He said, different States have different capacities but all of them are on board to work jointly with the Centre in areas like R&D, Innovation and STI Ecosystem.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that Gujarat is the only State in the country to have S&T policy, but after brainstorming sessions for the last four months, 11 more states including Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh are preparing their S&T policy. He said, each of the States and Union Territories has been asked to identify the areas where technological interventions can help in resolving diverse problems to enable ease of living for common man. He said, for instance the UT Govt of Jammu & Kashmir will be assisted through the latest snow clearing technology while Puducherry and Tamil Nadu are being assisted in restoration and renovation of sea-beach.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that Vigyan Prasar is being revamped completely and it will cater to communication needs of the six S&T departments including Space and Atomic energy. He said, Vigyan Prasar has been asked to make small documentaries on success stories like Aroma Mission, UV technology installed in Central Hall of Parliament, Heli-Borne survey for water management, mechanised sewage cleaning system for wider dissemination.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that a Common Booklet on Reforms undertaken by all the six S&T departments including Space and Atomic energy since 2014 will be compiled and released in coming days. The Minister informed that work is also progressing fast to develop a Common Portal for all the six S&T departments including Space and Atomic energy to avoid duplicity and to achieve greater synergy in policy and programmes.

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SNC/RR