Modi urges researchers to make country self-reliant
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today outlined the vision for science for the next 25 years, urging researchers to make the country self-reliant and focus on converting their knowledge to bring about change in everyday life.
Inaugurating the 108th Indian Science Congress in Nagpur, PM Modi also stressed on strengthening scientific processes, focussing on emerging areas such as quantum technologies, data sciences, development of new vaccines, stepping up efforts on surveillance for newer diseases, and encouraging youngsters to take up research.
“Efforts of science can turn into great achievements only when they come out of the lab and reach the land, and their impact reaches from global to grassroots, when its ambit is from journal to zameen (land, everyday life) and when change is visible from research to real life,” the Prime Minister said addressing the event virtually.
The five-day Indian Science Congress was inaugurated at the Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University here in the presence of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Jitendra Singh, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Prime Minister also made a strong pitch for creating an institutional framework and a mentor-mentee (guru-shishya) system that could build upon the successes of talent hunts and hackathons to attract youngsters to science. He highlighted the opportunities for private companies and start ups by associating with research labs and academic institutions.
He urged researchers to focus on quantum computing and emerge as world leaders in the upcoming field. “India is moving fast in the direction of quantum computers, chemistry, communication, sensors, cryptography and new materials,” PM Modi said as he urged young researchers and scientists to gain expertise in the quantum field and become leaders.