India must take advantage of disruptive, impactful technologies: Harsh Vardhan

By Joymala Bagchi
New Delhi [India], Aug 28 : Union Minister for Science Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday said that there is an emergence of disruptive and impactful technologies and the country must take advantage of this.
The minister said that the new STIP (science, technology and innovation policy) under formulation will fulfil dreams and aspirations of millions of young Indian scientists and students.
He made the remarks while speaking at the inauguration of 'In Conversation With' - a series of exclusive interactions with thought leaders from across the country on STIP 2020.
Stakeholders and the public at large in the country and abroad were invited to participate in formulating an evidence-driven and inclusive Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020).
"The proposed STI policy is expected to leverage the astounding progress that the STI system has witnessed in recent years and build a long term pathway which must be able to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of millions of young Indian scientists and students. This can be done only when we make policy formulation totally inclusive and participatory," he said.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, who is also Health Minister, also stressed that the policy has to be thoroughly people-centric in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
STIP-2020 process has been divided into four interlinked tracks of actions.
Track-I involves extended public and expert consultation with six activities which aim to reach out to all citizens of the country to get their ideas, suggestions, or comments for the policy.
Track-II action relates to expert consultation. Track-III is for consultation with ministries (including line ministries) and states/UTs, and Track-IV comprises of apex level consultation and advice.
Possibility of achievements through Atmanirbhar Bharat was also discussed and stressed during the inaugural event.
Harsh Vardhan also noted that scientists have done "remarkably well" with their work during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
During the virtual event today, the minister also launched the STIP 2020 Page on MyGov portal along with "popularization Quiz for school children".
Dr.Akhilesh Gupta, Head, Policy Planning; Dr Rabindra Panigrahy, DST Scientist; Dr Nimita Pandey, DST, STI Policy Fellow; Dr Chagun Basha, Senior Technical Specialist, Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt of India; Mr Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov; Mr Aditya Kaushik, Co-Founder, Science Policy Forum; were among various those who joined the function virtually.
The first Science and Technology Innovation Policy was launched in 1958 and the second one took another 25 years. The third STIP came up on 2003 and the last in 2013. The past seven years have seen a very distinctive change in science and technology and the latest policy is expected to reflect that.