Press Information Bureau

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 launched “YUVA PORTAL”, which will help in connecting and identifying potential young Start-Ups.

While launching the NPL’s “One Week -One Lab” program in New Delhi, Dr Jitendra Singh again underlined that unless the stakeholders' participation is broad-based, particularly the Industry, the StartUps may not remain sustainable for want of proper industry mapping and right aptitude, he cautioned.

It may be recalled that Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh had launched “One Week- One Lab" campaign on 6th Jan 2023. Highlighting India's global excellence in technology, innovation and Start-Ups, Dr Jitendra Singh said each of the 37 CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) Labs spread across the country is dedicated to a different exclusive area of work and the "on week, one lab" campaign will offer an opportunity to each one of them to showcase the work being done by it so that others can avail of it and stakeholders learn about it

Dr Jitendra Singh referred to PM’s address at 108th Indian Science Congress held in Nagpur this Tuesday, when he said, “We are also seeing the results of the scientific approach with which today's India is moving forward. India is fast becoming one of the top countries of the world in the field of science.

Dr Jitendra Singh also hailed the launching of the astronomy lab that has come up in Haryana’s Karnal and said it will provide level-playing field to all and even Divyangs can excel in various forms of skill, art and craft. He said, the facility in different languages to start with will enable hearing impaired students to learn about sun, moon and stars, apart from simple to complex concepts of space.

It may be informed that the Indian Sign Language AstroLab has 65 pieces of equipment, including a large telescope, interactive models, audio visual aids, and fun fact posters and a 24 X 7 virtual access to stream over 90 videos, including biopics, hands-on demonstrations, fun facts, and explanatory videos about simple to complex concepts of space and science in Indian sign language.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, with today’s program, in which all labs of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will reach out to public to not only showcase their technologies but also to ignite the minds of young innovators, students, start-ups, academia, and industry to look for opportunities through deep tech ventures. In the “One Week, One Lab” campaign, in successive weeks, each of the CSIR labs is showcasing their exclusive innovations and technological breakthroughs to the people of India. The CSIR laboratories are unique and specialise in the specific areas which span from genome to geology, food to fuel, minerals to materials, and so on.

Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that CSIR-NPL is the custodian of Indian Standard Time (IST), generated using an atomic time scale consisting of Cesium atomic clocks and Hydrogen masers. Not just that, IST is kept traceable within a few nanoseconds to the international reference time UTC (coordinated Universal Time) using ultra-precise satellite links. Come and witness how CSIR-NPL keeps the nation's time ticking!

Did you know that the CSIR-NPL standardised the measurements of gas and airborne particles for monitoring atmospheric pollution?

CSIR-NPL Director, Prof Venugopal Achanta said, “CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is going to organise the One Week- One Lab program from 17-21 April, 2023. The aim of this program is to create awareness about the available technologies and services present at NPL among potential stakeholders, to provide solutions to societal problems, to sensitise the masses about the importance of precise measurements and to develop the scientific temperament among masses especially amongst students who are the future of the country”.

Dr Achanta said 180 schools of Delhi -NCR were exposed to NPL to labs for different activities and more and more schools will be thrown open for such open interactions in future.

It preserves and maintains the measurement standards of length, mass, temperature etc including the task of dissemination of the Indian Standard Time (IST). NPL is conducting multidisciplinary R&D with a mission to establish the futuristic quantum standards and upcoming technologies so that India remains on par with international measurement laboratories. It is developing sophisticated analytical equipment (i.e. import substitutes) under “Make in India” programme to cater the ever increasing demands of emerging India and training of young scientists and industry personnel in the area of measurements under “Skill India” programme.

From April 18-20, there will be three days of Start-up/MSME/Industry Meet. The aim of this event is to showcase various services extended by NPL to industries. In this event, all stakeholders have been invited whom NPL has helped/connected/provided technological support/ consultancy/ services. During this event each day, more than 20 industries will be joining where they will not only showcase their technologies/services (where NPL has contributed) but also talk about NPL’s scientific and technological help they have received. Several other crucial issues will be discussed related to the innovation framework and ecosystem. MoUs with 4 new industry partners will be signed for technology transfer and development.

On 19th April, the Metrology Conclave will be organised where a Handbook on Advances in Metrology at CSIR-NPL will be released. CSIR-NPL’s Role and Efforts in the field of Metrology, CSIR-NPL Road Map for Future and Developing National and International Collaborations, panel discussion are the other attributes of the metrology conclave.

On 20th April, R&D Conclave & Women in STEM is planned where eminent scientists of the NPL family and alumni will share their vision and showcase the role of CSIR-NPL in recent advancements in science and technology. The focus of this one-day event will be on Women’s empowerment during the above-said event and a series of activities will be conducted by women scientists to discuss the recent trend in Research and Development, Challenges, and Opportunities for Women in STEM Careers. Also, there will be a documentary film to showcase renowned Women Scientists in India.

On 21st April, a one-day Skill Conclave will be held. The prime focus of the conclave is to sensitise/educate masses about CSIR-NPL's skill program and inspire locals by hosting various expert lectures and skill demonstrations in the fields related to all aspects of our lives. To train skilled manpower needed in the country by different industries, academia, and society, CSIR-NPL is carrying out, from time to time, many events.

For more details about CSIR-NPL and its “One Week One Lab” program, one can visit NPL website:

https://www.nplindia.org/. To participate, the interested may register for the event.

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