National Brainstorming Session on Transforming India’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Ecosystems Held in New Delhi

New Delhi: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) organized a national brainstorming session on “Transforming Science, Technology, and Innovation Ecosystems of India” at the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) today. The day-long discussions focused on critical areas such as research and innovation, equity and inclusion, technology development, translation, innovation, entrepreneurship, international cooperation, and science, technology, and innovation governance.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), inaugurated the session. In his address, he emphasized DST’s pioneering role in developing science and technology policies to facilitate research and development over the years. “We have established several centers for policy research and led initiatives in formulating science and technology indicators, benchmarking them against global practices, and conducting evidence-based analysis of the scientific and technological ecosystem in the country,” Prof. Karandikar stated.

He highlighted the need for agile and adaptive policies to keep pace with the rapidly transforming S&T ecosystem. “We must design policies that can sync with these changes and facilitate deep tech startups and research. A long-term policy is essential for creating a robust ecosystem for basic science research, which can lead to more discoveries and inventions from India. I hope today’s deliberations will yield valuable recommendations that we can implement,” he added.

Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, President of INSA, underscored the importance of effective policy in driving scientific progress. He pointed out the extensive consultation process involved in forming the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy, which engaged around 50,000 stakeholders from various sectors. He highlighted the success of the new open National Geospatial Policy in making geospatial information accessible to Indians and enhancing the economic importance of resources like rural land by defining ownership.

Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, Senior Adviser at DST, provided an overview of DST’s policy research initiatives and detailed the formulation process of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020.

The expected outcomes from the session include developing a comprehensive roadmap for national science policy development, identifying specific policy recommendations to address critical challenges in each focus area, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange between policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders, and establishing a platform for ongoing dialogue and collaborative policy development efforts.

The event reflects DST’s commitment to fostering a dynamic and inclusive science and technology ecosystem in India, leveraging collective expertise to drive innovation and development.