Government Initiatives

Some of the recent initiatives taken by the Government of India to promote science and technology in India are:

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has received 31 bids from manufacturers showing interest in developing the vaccine for the monkeypox virus after the medical body put out the Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development of vaccine and diagnostic kits.
• In 2021-22, African Centers of Excellence in a few specific scientific fields were strengthened by twinning with Indian institutes in order to carry out the Africa-India S&T Initiative Program by the Department of Science and Technology.
• The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has revamped the FIST (Fund for Improvement of S & T Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions) programme to align it with the objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat by developing R&D infrastructure for use by start-ups, manufacturing companies, and MSMEs, in addition to R&D operations in academic organisations.
• The Women Science programme of DST has started a new initiative to support women PG colleges under the CURIE (Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities) Program and invited proposals for the same.
• Under the Union Budget 2022-23, the government announced allocation of Rs. 14,217 crore (US$ 1.86 billion) to the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Department of Atomic Energy was allocated Rs. 22,723.58 crore (US$ 2.97 billion), the Department of Science and Technology (DST) was allocated Rs. 6,000 crore (US$ 785.64 million), and the Ministry of Earth Sciences was allocated Rs. 2,653.51 crore (US$ 347.45 million).
• To further India with High-Performance Computing (HPC), four new Supercomputers have been installed since July 2021 - one each at IIT-Hyderabad, NABI- Mohali, CDAC-Bengaluru, and IIT Kanpur.
• Synergistic Training Program Utilizing the Scientific and Technological Infrastructure (STUTI), a new initiative, was recently unveiled with the goal of enhancing human resource development and capacity building through nationwide open access to science and technology infrastructure.
• The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has partnered with Intel India to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative to advance deep tech-based research in India.
• In November 2021, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, in association with Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), launched the India International Science Festival 2021, a unique platform, with its theme being celebration of creativity in science, technology and innovation for a prosperous India
• In November 2021, Atal Innovation Mission and Vigyan Prasar collaborated to drive synergies between Atal Tinkering Labs and Vigyan Prasar’s unique platform, Engage With Science.
• In October 2021, the government announced plans to establish 75 science technology & innovation hubs in India for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) and empower them to contribute to the socio-economic improvement of the country.
• In October 2021, the government launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) to accelerate technology advancements and strengthen the space sector in the country.
• In October 2021, India and Denmark agreed for a five-year plan to implement green strategic partnership for enhancing collaboration in various areas including science and technology.
• In October 2021, India and Europe held discussions to review the progress on science and technology bilateral cooperation and strengthen efforts on research and innovation.
• On September 27, 2021, DRDO tested a new version of the Akash Missile, Akash Prime, equipped with an active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy.
• In September 2021, 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, launched the ‘AmritGrand Challenge Programme’ called ‘JANCARE’. This programme has been launched to identify 75 start-ups in several sectors such as telemedicine, digital health and mHealth with Big Data, AI, blockchain and other technologies.
• In September 2021, Atal Innovation Mission and Dassault Systèmes announced their plan to set up an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem across India.
• In August 2021, the central government approved Deep Ocean Mission (DOM), which will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a total budget of Rs. 4,077 crore (US$ 548.54 million) for five years. The mission is a multi-ministerial, multi-disciplinary programme to develop deep-sea technologies such as manned submersibles (that are rated for 6,000-metre water depth) and enable deep-sea mining, exploration of deep-sea mineral resources and marine biodiversity, acquisition of a research vessel to explore oceans, conduct deep-sea observations and build capacities in marine biology research.
• India initiated a landmark policy called Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 with core vision of being decentralized, evidence informed, bottom-up, experts-driven, and inclusive. The policy aims to be bring-in the concept of ‘dynamic policy’ with a robust policy governance mechanism incorporating features such as periodic review, policy evaluation, feedback, and adaptation, and a timely exit strategy for various policy instruments.