The Minister for Science
& Technology (S&T) Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has said that scientific research
in the country is to made the engine for ‘MAKE IN INDIA’ in years to
come. Addressing a press conference along with Shri Y.S. Chowdary, the
Minister of State for S&T in Hyderabad today, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said he was
optimistic that all scientists of Indian origin would respond positively to the
Narendra Modi government’s invitation to participate and bring an
S&T-based industrial renaissance in our country. He said the focus of the
present government will be to take scientific research to the field for
implementation, for industrial progress.

Dr.
Harsh Vardhan said that India today is definitely a more happening place in the
areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) than the West.
The Prime Minister’s confidence is definitely having
an effect, he added.
The
Modi government has already announced a package of incentives to Indian-origin
STEM researchers so that they could get competitive salaries in India. Many
private sector companies have already succeeded in wooing back to India
talented scientists. This is reflecting well on India’s image as a country with innovation and STEM-based
entrepreneurship.
Dr.
Harsh Vardhan said that “Ministry of Science & Technology (BIRAC and CSIR)
would work with State Industry Development Corporations for enabling deployment
of technology benefitting SMEs”.
The
spurt in the number of India’s intellectually talented
students turning to the pure sciences has been noticed worldwide. Recently, the
widely respected US think tank, Brookings Institution, has revealed in a report
that 8 of the top10 cities worldwide in terms of sending STEM scholars to the
United States on F-1 visas are in India. These cities are: Vijayawada, Hyderabad,
Secunderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Pune.
The
Minister said that falling world oil prices will not distract India’s commitment to seeking
breakthroughs in making renewable energy harnessing and its affordable adoption
in everyday lif
Solar power
The
Minister said that he would drive the Department of Science and Technology
(DST) to push the frontiers of research into renewable energy research,
particularly solar power.
“World
oil prices have fallen from $ 115 a barrel in June to less than $ 50 this week.
But Prime Minister Modi, himself a great backer of solar energy research,
development and adoption in everyday life, has instructed me not to be
distracted from the pursuit of the ultimate goal of having a fossil fuel free
economy. This is definitely good news for the Environment as the present
dependence on non-renewable forms of energy is killing us all and would be
disastrous for the future generations”the Minister said.
The
total renewable energy potential from various sources is conservatively
estimated at 2.5 lakh MW. According to United Nations, India has achieved less
than 12.5 percent of the potential. As for solar power, he said, the potential
is “unlimited”.
Dr.
Harsh Vardhan said, “In solar power the present trend is to think in terms of
Gigawatts and not Megawatts because that would lead to prices dropping. In
Germany, the government is encouraging house owners to rent out their rooftops
so that more and more solar power can be harnessed for feeding into the grid. This
policy needs to be incorporated into our national policy”.
Milestones: 2014-15
Extending
his warm New Year’s greetings to the media
representatives, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the Ministries of S&T and
Earth Sciences, which he heads, have had a most fruitful 2014. He congratulated
all scientists, researchers, technicians and administrative staff of government
laboratories and foundations who have made “Mangalyaan”and other milestones
possible.
“The
Indian private sector should also be congratulated because it is functioning in
many start up fields and competing with established players in the West. In the
past 20 years many Indian companies based on biotechnology, biological sciences
and other fields have attracted world recognition “the Minister said. Dr. Harsh
Vardhan said that India a large youth are now expected to take the country to
its glory through the scientific path.

He
listed the following achievements of the Department of Science and Technology
at the Press Conference.
·
Cutting-edge
Technology: Make in India. India is a partner in the Thirty Metre Telescope
(TMT) project at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA at a total cost of ₹1,299.8 Crore from 2014-23. 70%
of India’s contribution will be in kind,
in the making of quality mirrors and engineering in India. Partners: USA,
Japan, Canada, China and India.
·
High
performance computing resource of 800 TFLOPS has been commissioned for weather
and climate modeling. Most powerful machine in the SE Asia.
·
Supercomputing
for the future: India has mounted an ambitious “National Supercomputing
Mission (NSM): Building Capacity and Capability “with the aim of building
Exascale computing with a total budget outlay of ₹4,500 Crore over 7 years (jointly
with Department of Information Technology).
·
Understanding
Climate Change and Saving the Himalayan Ecosystem: National Mission for
Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for
Climate Change.
·
Tsunami Early
Warning System at ESSO-INCOIS designated as Regional Tsunami Service Provider
(RTSP) for providing advisories to all Indian Ocean Rim countries. India only
country capable of providing advisories for both tsunamigenic zones: Makran
coast and Andaman-Sumatra sub-duction zone.
·
Cyclone
Prediction. Remarkable improvements: Recent events such as Thane, Phailin, and
Helen and Hudhud.
·
Modeling
Monsoon: A dynamic model employed to predict quantitative precipitation
associated with the southwest monsoon.
·
Helping
Recovery of Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) heavy weight
torpedo ‘VARUNASTRA’. The support and participation
by Vessel Management Cell of MoES ESSO-NIOT and crew of Sagar-Nidhi vital.
·
Make in India
in High-end S&T: Deployed first Sub-surface Ocean Moored Observatory in the
Arctic. ESSO-NCAOR and the ESSO-NIOT successfully deployed IndARC, the country’s first multi-sensor moored
observatory in the Kongsfjorden fjord of the Arctic, roughly half way between
Norway and the North Pole. This is a testimony to the capabilities of India in
designing, developing and installing underwater observatories.
·
Investing for
our future talent:, New thrust in Human Resource Development. Indian Scientists
teach and train in Scale. International Scientists to teach in India.
Opportunities for attracting Overseas Indian Scientists to return to India.
·
Enhanced
Innovation Ecosystem: Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council now
supports nearly 300 companies, 100 young entrepreneurs. Biotechnology
Translational research and industry academia partnership are being promoted
through 3 Biotech clusters, 8 Biotech Parks and 13 Bioincubators.
·
Rotavirus
vaccine indigenously developed. The developed Rotavirus Vaccine at $1 per dose
has been cleared for market license.
·
Decoding the
Wheat Genome: 15 countries joined hands to complete this huge task of decoding
17,000 million bases. Indian Scientists participated in Decoding Chromosome 2A.
·
The Council
of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) provides significant
technological interventions in many areas of economic and social importance
which include environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, farm
and non-farm sectors.
·
CSIR has 90%
of US patents granted to any Indian publicly funded R&D organization. CSIR
licenses 13.86% of its patents - above global average.
·
National
Capacity Building and in some areas, global leadership. Example: CSIR
technology provides gasoline with less than 0.3% benzene. A 0.60 MMTPA plant is
being constructed at Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar. First in world.
·
Novel Broad
Spectrum Confocal Microscope: Under CSIR-CGCRI and NMITLI programme a Broad
Spectrum Confocal Microscope, world class ‘Made in India’High-end Product based on
Supercontinuum Light Source. Paved the way for India’s presence in global photonics research.
·
Strategic
Sector: DHVANI, a state-of-the-art marksmanship training system and Drishti
Systems, airport visibility measuring tools.
·
KrishiShakti,
an indigenous diesel engine tractor.
·
Just
Announced: Indian Neutrino Observatory. A major high-tech Make in India
initiative and a new-thrust in High-Energy Experimental Physics. Collaboration
with Department of Atomic Energy.
Secretary, Ministry of S&T
Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan and Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences Dr. Shailesh Nayak
made presentation-
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