The country’s science and technology space has made significant strides over the past three-and-half years under the Narendra Modi government to transform itself to the third most sought-after R&D destination globally.

Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Environment, said: “Thousands of crores are being spent on entrepreneurs, through various initiatives, such as start-up mission, to promote innovation and enterprise. This has pitch-forked India into the sixth largest spender in the world on research and development.”

Did you know that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CISR), a Government of India-promoted research body, now ranks 9th in the world among the 1,200 institutions promoted by governments across the world?, he asked.

“This is no mean achievement and speaks volumes of the progress we have made as nation. India is already looked upon to be among leaders in research and development and ranks among 5-6 in science collaborations in the globe,” Vardhan told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the JITO conference.

“As a doctor, who had practised medical profession for more than four decades, I have been closely watching the progress science and technology has made over the years; I believe science has the potential to solve each and every problem on the planet. In tune with this thinking, the spend is also going up,” he said.

“Today Indian science is having its best. We have entered into top quality collaborations with more than 44 countries to learn and share best practices. In nano technology, we are already being seen amongst the top three innovators in the world. The country’s space mission, too, is making significant progress. The impending Chandrayan mission is set to be launched within the next 2-3 months,” the Minister said.

More needs to be done While the government is taking a number of steps towards innovation, including start-up and stand-up initiatives, the spending of industries in R&D is still very low. I call upon the industries to increase their contribution, he said.

Referring to a weather-related app useful for the agriculture sector, which is being used by more than 24 million farmers, the Minister said that through the weather updates it provides to the farm sector, farmers are able to bring about huge savings. It is estimated that this would have added about ₹50,000 crore to the country’s GDP, he said, quoting the National Council for Applied Research.

Taking environment on a mission mode, the Minister said: “A number of initiatives have been taken up, and one such is the Green Good Deeds app, which people can access from anywhere. The idea is to have various innovative ideas at one place for people to replicate.”

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