Excelsior Correspondent
PANCHKULA, Dec 7: India has entered a decisive part in its evolution from a standard financial system to an innovation-driven nation, and is now shaping global trends in technology driven progress as an alternative of following them, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; and Minister of State for the Departments of Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh stated on the 4-day India International Science Festival (IISF), at the moment being held right here.
Speaking throughout a particular Fireside Chat at IISF, the Minister stated the final decade has introduced a elementary shift in India’s scientific temperament, coverage course, and governance strategy. He stated India’s financial progress is now clearly powered by science, technology, analysis, and innovation, and that the global group more and more sees India as a supply of latest fashions for governance, public service supply, and technology-led improvement.
Dr. Jitendra Singh stated India has by no means lacked expertise, potential or dedication, however what has modified is the standard of political assist and the readability of nationwide goal. He stated India is now not late to global technological transitions and, in many rising areas, together with biotechnology, nuclear innovation, regenerative sciences and next-generation area applied sciences, the nation is now enjoying a defining management position.
At the competition, the Minister spoke extensively in regards to the launch of the brand new nationwide R&D fund, calling it a transformative step to unlock high-risk, high-impact innovation. He stated this fund will assist analysis and enterprise in sectors that have been beforehand inaccessible to personal gamers, resembling area and nuclear vitality. He described the initiative as a “catalytic push” designed to assist Indian trade construct long-term capabilities by low-interest, long-duration monetary help, enabling corporations to scale confidently earlier than they emerge as robust, impartial contributors to India’s technological rise.
Reflecting on the opening of the area sector, the minister stated there was a time when even journalists weren’t allowed contained in the gates of Sriharikota throughout rocket launches. He stated the change introduced in beneath Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resulted in a dramatic enlargement, from a handful of gamers to almost 400 area start-ups, lots of that are now recognised globally. He stated India is now not limiting its area achievements to rocket launches alone, and has created global fashions for utilizing area applied sciences in agriculture, healthcare, ingesting water options and catastrophe administration.
Discussing India’s rising global stature, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that younger Indians right now take pleasure in far increased respect overseas than earlier generations. When an Indian skilled introduces himself abroad, he stated, his credibility in the job market instantly rises, a shift that he described as a “complete reversal” of the state of affairs 20 years in the past.
He stated delegations from international locations throughout areas have visited India in current months to know its grievance redressal programs, digital certification mechanisms for senior residents and different public service improvements, which reveals how India has turn into a creator of worldwide related finest practices.
The Minister attributed a lot of the nation’s renewed confidence to the altering work tradition introduced in during the last decade. He stated the federal government now capabilities with better goal, accountability and responsiveness, and schemes resembling Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Ujjwala Yojana symbolize a brand new spirit of inclusive democracy the place advantages attain residents with out discrimination of caste, faith, or political choice. According to him, this shift has rebuilt belief between the citizen and the state.
On the query of how India ought to measure its innovation progress, Dr Jitendra Singh stated the true measure is sustainability. Ideas should translate into viable enterprises with robust trade and market linkages. He stated innovation can’t stay confined to idealism; it should additionally supply dignity, monetary safety, and a way of equality in society. He referred to the rise of worthwhile agri-start-ups, together with lavender-based ventures, based by professionals who left high-pressure company jobs to construct enterprises which can be each significant and economically profitable.