Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government is taking all efforts to "effectively use Information Technology to reduce red tape" and ensure "ease of doing of science".
Addressing the 107th Science Congress at the lush-green Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra Campus, University of Agricultural Sciences here, he also gave a new ‘formula’ for young scientists to take the nation forward -- "innovate, patent, produce and prosper." These four steps would lead to a giant leap for India through "faster development," he said.
In this context, the PM said: "I am happy to learn that India's ranking has improved in the Innovation Index to 52. Our programs have created more technology business incubators in the last five years than in the previous 50 years... I congratulate our scientists for these accomplishments."
He also said India needs to explore, map and responsibly harness the vast oceanic resources of water, energy, food and minerals. "Our successes in space exploration should now be mirrored in the new frontier of the deep sea."
Claiming that science and technology would play a key role in India becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for a revolution in both the fields.
"We need revolution in science and technology, as they will play a key role in making India a $5-trillion economy by 2024," PM Modi said.
PM Modi also said that he will always remember the manner in which the nation "celebrated science, the space program and the strengths of scientists" during the Chandrayaan-2 mission in September last year.
"I am very happy that one of my first programmes at the start of the New Year and new decade is linked to science, technology and innovation. This programme is happening in Bengaluru, a city associated with science and innovation," Prime Minister Modi said.
"The last time I had come to Bengaluru was when the eyes of the nation were set on Chandrayaan-2. That time, the manner in which our nation celebrated science, our space program and the strengths of our scientists will always be a part of my memory," he said.
He went on to add, "When we start the year 2020 with positivity and optimism of science and technology-driven development, we take one more step in fulfilling our dream." In September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed the nation from ISRO Control Centre here, after ISRO lost communication with 'Vikram' lander of Chandrayaan 2 moments before it was preparing to make a soft-landing on the south pole region of the Moon.
"Don't lose hope. Be courageous. There are ups and downs in life. What you all have done is not a small thing. You have done a great service to the country, science and mankind. I am with you. I wish you all the best," the Prime Minister had told the scientists.
Calling for a revolution in technologies assisting agricultural practices, Modi asked the scientific community to find farmer-centric solutions to the problem of stalk burning.
The PM dedicated a large portion of his speech to agriculture – a field that is a worry for India.
“There is a need for revolution in technologies assisting agricultural practices. Can we find farmer-centric solutions to the problem of stalk burning for instance? Can we also redesign our brick kilns for reduced emissions and greater energy efficiency,’’ he said adding that like in all fields, there is a need to use technology and new practices to boost the agriculture production.
Modi also underlined the need on waste management. He said along with ‘’plastic waste, we also need new technology, new solutions to remove and reuse metal from electronic waste’’.
‘’Another important point I wish to make is the significance of "Make in India" in medical devices to bring the fruits of advances in diagnostics to our people. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "It is health that is the real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver,” he said.
‘’We know from science that the potential energy, the silent form of energy, can move mountains by its conversion to the kinetic energy of motion. Can we build a Science in Motion.” he added.
He patted Bengaluru saying “the city of gardens, is now a wonderful field for startups. The world is coming to innovate here. Science and Technology is being used for governance in the country, like never before. Globally we aim to develop India into a 100 billion bio-manufacturing hub by 2024."
Noting that science has a key role in the development and growth of the country, he said losses of farmers due to bottlenecks in the supply chain should be fixed by using applied technology.
"Digital technology, e-commerce, mobile banking services are helping farmers effectively. Technology has made it possible to build two crore houses for the poor in time," he asserted.
According to the varsity, the five-day event will also see the participation of Nobel laureates Stefan Hell from Max Planck Institut Germany and Ada E Yonath, an expert in structural biology from Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.
Around 15,000 people are expected to attend the event. This is the third time Bengaluru is hosting the science congress after 2002 and 1987. Modi inaugurated the 103rd session at Mysuru in the southern state on January 3, 2016.
As the event is being held at an agriculture university, the focal theme of the congress is "Science and Technology: Rural Development", ostensibly to bridge the gap between urban and rural India and improving the quality of farmers' life through science and technology.
The national jamboree will cover 14 sectors in contemporary science, with concurrent sub-events like Women's Science Congress, Children's Science Congress, Science Communicators; Meet and Farmer's Science Congress.
For the first time, the Farmer's Science Congress on January 6 will provide a forum to ryots across the country to interact, share their experiences, success, failures and showcase their innovative techniques/methods developed and followed by them in farming.
Four public lectures and 26 plenary sessions will be held concurrently. In addition, a science exhibition (Pride of India) will showcase the latest developments in science and technology the world over, leading products and services, path-breaking research and developments (R&D) initiatives, schemes and achievements of the public and private sectors.
(With inputs from Agencies)
