Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged scientific community and industry to build upon what they have achieved during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and translate that success in every other field to make India strong and self-reliant.

Addressing a virtual meeting of Council of Scientific and Industrial Society, Modi lauded the efforts made by Indian scientists in making the country self-reliant in Covid-19 vaccines, testing kits, equipment and medicines that are necessary for fighting the pandemic.

Appealing to CSIR scientists, the Prime Minister said the Covid-19 crisis might have affected the pace of development but the commitment to realise the dream of AatmaNirbhar Bharat remains. The prime Minister called for making optimum use of opportunities in our country. He said that there is immense potential in every field from agriculture to the education sector for our MSMEs and Start-ups.

Whenever there was a big humanitarian crisis in the past, science has prepared the way for a better future, the Prime Minister said adding that it was for the first time in the history of mankind a vaccine was made within such a shortest possible time to fight Covid-19 pandemic.

In India, CSIR works as an institutional arrangement to keep science, society and industry on the same page. This institution has given so many talents and scientists to the country like Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar who was its founder-director. CSIR, which works to solve many problems faced like a developing country like ours, has a powerful set of research and patents eco-system, he said.

Role to play

According to Modi, institutions like CSIR have an extraordinary role to play in laying foundation for meeting goals of the country and dreams of the countrymen in the 21st century. “Today’s India wants to be self-reliant and empowered in every sector, from biotechnology to battery technologies, from agriculture to astronomy, from disaster management to defence technology, from vaccines to virtual reality,” Modi said.

He added, Today India is showing the way to the world in the field of sustainable development and clean energy. From software to satellites, India is accelerating the development of other countries, playing the role of a major engine in the development of the world. Therefore, Modi said, India’s goals should be in line with the needs of this decade as well as for the next decade.

Stating that experts around the world are constantly expressing huge apprehension about climate change, he urged Indian scientists to take lead in every sector from carbon capture to energy storage and green hydrogen technologies.

Modi also praised CSIR for its role in the Aroma mission launched in 2016. He said today thousands of farmers of the country are changing their fortunes through floriculture. Besides, he lauded CSIR for helping in cultivation of asafoetida within the country for which India was dependent on imports.

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