India has made significant strides in scientific and technological development by also becoming the first nation to reach Mars in its maiden attempt. India is facing various challenges and opportunities. Some of these important challenges are in the key sectors of clean water & energy, food, environment, climate, and healthcare. It is important to translate the scientific knowledge into innovations through start-ups and industry so as to facilitate India to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth in the coming decades. This goal can be achieved, through developing scientific temper among the masses and by strengthening India’s science and technology institutions & furthering their basic research.

Emphasizing the role of technologies and innovation, India has declared 2010-20 as the ‘Decade of Innovation’. The Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences,  and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) have come together to organize The India International Science Festival (IISF) every year, since 2015 to encourage scientific temper among the masses and showcasing Indian contribution in the field of S&T over the years. The previous two editions of IISF held at New Delhi have been a great success.

The 3^rd edition of IISF 2017 will be held in Chennai during 13-16 October, 2017 at various venues which include Anna University, Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and IIT-Madras.

The prime objective of the festival is to instill scientific temper among the masses and showcasing India’s contribution in the field of S&T over the years. It aims to build a strategy for rural India through the advancement of Science and Technology. Further, the science festival also intends to make innovation beneficial for the people and develop technology that is affordable to the masses.

Major Activities during the Festival will be:

1. Special Thematic Session on 'Deep Ocean Research'
2. Science & Technology Minister’s Conclave
3. Sensitizing Youth to Flagship Programs of Government (SYPOG)
4. Science Village: Parliament to Panchayat’’
5. National Meet on ‘Social Organisations and Institutions’: ‘Transforming India through Science & Technology’
6. Women Scientists & Entrepreneur’s Conclave
7. National Science Teachers Workshops (Focusing North East States)
8. Industry Academia Interaction
9. Mega Science, Technology & Industry Expo
10. India International Science Festival
11. Grassroots Innovators Summit
12. National Start-up Summit
13. Round Table Meet on Mass Communication
14. World Record attempt will be made in "Largest Biology Lesson"
15. National Level Competitions – Ideas for Bharat Nirman
16. Outreach Programme in R&D Labs
17. Satellite Seminars
18. Cultural Events

The Govt of India is launching a National Mission on Deep Ocean Research which will bring in huge economic benefits by harnessing the ocean resources (water, energy and minerals). A special thematic session on Deep Ocean Research will be held.  

The Scientific departments and Ministries of the Government of India have active international collaboration in science and technology both at the bilateral and regional level. India is engaged in R&D cooperation with more than 44 countries across the globe including advanced, emerging and developing nations. The S&T Ministers Conclave at IISF-2017 will provide an opportunity to exchange the scientific and technological priorities of the participating countries that can help to develop a roadmap for S&T cooperation. This roadmap can be used by all the S&T Departments to engage proactively with each of these countries. The focus will be on capacity building through mechanisms such as fellowships, internships, twinning, training, data sharing, joint projects and technology transfer. The development and deployment of affordable and innovative technologies that provide solution to societal problems will also be a common agenda for the Conclave. Participation of Ministers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Portugal are expected in the Conclave.

‘Science for New India’ aims to provides a platform to young students, scientists and technocrats from across India for the exchange of knowledge & ideas in the line of flagship programs like 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', ‘Swasth Bharat Abhiyan’, 'Make in India', 'Digital India’, ‘Smart Villages’, 'Smart Cities’, 'Namami Gange', 'Unnath Bharath Abhiyan', etc.

An important event of the IISF-2017 is the Science Village program which is linked with the Pradhan Manthri Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana to reach out to the rural masses and propagate science to the extent of seeking scientific solutions to the diverse challenges facing our society, particularly rural India.. Each Member of Parliament will nominate 5 students from class 9^th – 11^th and 1 teacher from their adopted village. The Science Village will thus demonstrate a mass representation from the rural parts of India and a continuation of the democratic process: ”Parliament to Panchayat”. The prime goal of the science village is to give exposure to the students from rural India and make them aware of India’s achievements in the frontier areas of science & technology.

As a unique programme of IISF 2017, a Women Scientists & Entrepreneur’s Conclave titled “Game Changers Driving Science for New India” would be organized to promote and encourage science education and entrepreneurship among the women. The aim of the programme is to develop new entrepreneurship and also explore new vistas of opportunities in the field of science and technology among the women.

The Industry-Academia interaction meet aims at Industry – Academic Institutional tie ups in R&D and achieving improved efficiency in production and manufacturing. The interaction will bring out a brief proceeding on the recent paradigm changes in various sectors of Industry. Representatives from industry and academia will also have a good opportunity to discuss the changing trends on management principles, scientific advancement and technological assimilation in industry and economy.

National Innovation Foundation (NIF) will be organising the ‘Innovation Exhibition’ as a part of the Grassroots Innovators Summit, which aims at providing a common platform for various stakeholders—from innovators, students, researchers to policy makers. About 100 innovative technologies from all states of the country will be showcased at the exhibition. The special focus will be given to those which could be diffused socially and generate employment.

The Round Table Meet on Mass Communication will address the various methods and techniques to popularize science and its applications. In the International Science Film Festival, Films on science focusing on science fiction from India and abroad will be screened.

World record attempts have been a key part of IISF since 2015; in IISF 2015, students took a successful shot at the Guinness world record for the World's Largest Science Lesson at IIT Delhi. In IISF 2016, at NPL, Pusa, a group of 550 students attempted the world record for Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Nobel Prize-winning scientist Albert Einstein. In IISF 2017, a World Record attempt will be made in "Largest Biology Lesson". 1000 students from Class 9th & 10th will be gathering at the venue in Chennai for this attempt.

The IISF is not only a celebration of science and technology through exhibitions and relevant events, but also has been geared up to spread awareness on the flagship programs like ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, ‘Swasth Bharat Abhiyan’, ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’.

The Honourable Vice President of India and many Union Ministers will be participating in IISF-2017.

The IISF will go a long way in delivering the goal of imparting ‘spirit of enquiry’ to the public masses.

Department of Science and Technology is implementing several initiatives for upliftment and economic development of rural areas in the country.  A number of appropriate technologies have been developed, demonstrated and deployed at several locations in the country.

The Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harshvardhan today launched “Pt Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana” which will experiment and endeavour to formulate and implement appropriate S&T Interventions for Sustainable Development through cluster approach in Uttarakhand.

Addressing the press, the Minister said that this project has been inspired by teachings and ideals of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhayay whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year.

DST has conceived to adopt a few clusters of villages in Uttarakhand and transform them to become self-sustainable in a time bound manner through the tools of Science and Technology (S&T). The key deliverable in this approach is to utilise local resources and locally available skill sets and convert them in a manner using science and technology, that substantial value addition takes place in their local produce and services which can sustain the rural population locally.  Further, the local communities are not compelled to migrate from their native places in search of jobs and livelihoods. Once this concept is validated in the few selected clusters, it can be replicated across large number of village clusters in the country.

Four clusters at Gaindikhata, Bazeera, Bhigun (in Garhwal) and Kausani (in Kumaon) have been selected for the intervention through a series of dialogues held among officials of DST and Uttarakhand State Council of Science and Technology (UCOST); Gramodaya Network, Surabhi Foundation and Uttarakhand Utthan Parishad; and other experts. Intensive interaction with local population and field visits were carried out to identify the challenges and opportunities that exist in the clusters.

About a lakh of people would benefit directly or indirectly through this project in four identified clusters of 60 villages in Uttarakhand for pilot phase which are located at different altitudes (up to 3000 meters). As the living conditions and resources available at different altitude is relatively different, the adopted strategy would help in creating models that are appropriate for different altitudes and could then be replicated in other hill states as well.

Areas of interventions in these selected clusters would be processing and value addition of milk, honey, mushroom, herbal tea, forest produce, horticulture and local crops, medicinal & aromatic plants and traditional craft and handloom of Uttarakhand.  Post-harvest processing of Kiwi, Strawberry, Cherry, Tulsi, Adrak, Badi Elaichi through solar drying technology, extraction of apricot oil using cold press technology. Stringent product and process control interventions for energy and water conservation would also be ensured through this project.

Novel strategies for sustainable development in this ecologically fragile state are important. Practice of agriculture, agro-based cottage industries and animal husbandry in an eco-friendly manner will be emphasized during the implementation of the project.  

Sustainable employment and livelihood options within the clusters such as eco-tourism, naturopathy and yoga, are also planned to be promoted.

These clusters would act as model production cum training and demonstration centres. There is a possibility of replicating this pilot phase initiative in other hill states of the country once it is established and stabilized. Various scientific institutions would participate collectively in this endeavour to accomplish the dream of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay  towards ‘Swavlamban’.

Department of Science and Technology (DST) has committed Rs 6.3 crore support for a period of three years for this project.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, former Chairman, KVIC and Director General, Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology and now Chairman, Gramodaya Network and Coordinator Gram Sankul Yojana is steering this unique initiative. Addressing the gathering, he said, ”In my opinion, this is not a routine project.  DST has responded to a call from the grassroots by providing technical and scientific inputs which is critical for any project.”

DBT announces three High-investment, High Outcome Thrusts for the North East Region

Bio-technology in the NER – DBT’s Efforts are bringing a paradigm shift
 

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the Ministry of Science & Technology,  has taken many steps to brings about a paradigm shift in biotechnology in the country’s North-East Region (NER). Eyeing an inclusive growth, DBT has announced a series of new programs and missions to turn this into a reality. DBT has established a dedicated ‘North Eastern Region Biotechnology Programme Management Cell (NER-BPMC)’, with an annual investment of Rs. 180 crores, to evolve, implement and foster biotechnology research in the north east states.

On the occasion of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Birth Centenary, the Minister of S&T, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change,  Dr. Harshvardhan announced three major new initiatives for the North East. These new initiatives are in congruence to the Pandit Deendayal  Upadhyaya’s philosophy of “Integral Humanism” which is a synthesis of the material and the spiritual, the individual and the collective, which the world is now calling as “One Health” embodying the health of human, animal and environment as one.

The Minister said that DBT has committed to dedicate each year, at least 10% of the budget for the North-East.  This year at least Rs.200 crores is expected to be spent for North-East Programmes.  The Minister informed that as a result of the programmes, North East has become a major hub of biotechnology at the foundational level.  The biotech programmes are of the highest quality, the institutions have state-of-the-art facilities and there has now been an impact on innovation and entrepreneurship because of excellent human resources programmes.

1. Phyto-Pharma Plant Mission: This is a Rs 50 crore Mission aimed at conservation and cultivation of endangered and threatened endemic medicinal plants, and discovery of new botanical drugs for unmet medical needs using the rich traditional ethno-botanical knowledge and biodiversity of these states and at the same time also improve availability of authentic and quality botanical raw material on sustainable basis for a boom in the phyto-pharmaceutical industry. Through this Mission, it is expected to enable farmers from NE states and phyto-pharmaceutical industry to become global leaders in production and export of some quality botanical drugs for unmet medical needs.   For this Mission, DBT will be the nodal coordinating and implementing department and work closely with Ministry of DONER and other identified institutions.

DBT has announced launch of the Phyto-pharmaceutical Mission in NER with three major objectives:

1. Captive cultivation of selected medicinal plants of NER, which have great demand to ensure supply of authentic and quality botanical raw material to the user industries in the country. 
2. Development of technology packages for production of GMP grade medicinal plant extracts for export markets.
3. Production of safe and efficacious phytopharmaceuticals from medicinal plants of NER for unmet medical needs using modern scientific tools and following global standards.

II.        Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat (B4) on the Brahmaputra River, a major ecology hotspot, in NER, in collaboration with DONER,  B4 will establish a large barge on the river with a well-equipped laboratory for analysis of all components of the entire ecosystem of the river and surroundings. The B4 will link to all the local research institutions along the river, as well as national and international laboratories.

B4 will have capability to analyse soil, water, environment, plant and animal life, human health and agriculture and  an  equal component that involves local citizens in the experimental process of science in data generation and management. B4 will also have a teaching laboratory for school/college children. It is also proposed to have mobile satellite boat labs which will run along the tributaries of Brahmaputra to feed in data to the main B4.

III.       Frugal microscopy through the Foldscope: a frugal microscope assembled from simple components, including a sheet of paper and a lens, is acting as a tool connecting students and science from the region, with the rest of the country.

A total 525 applications from schools, colleges have been received: 112 from schools, 357 from colleges and 56 from citizen scientists. All applicants will receive a micro grant between Rs 4 lakhs to 8 Lakhs as well as a supply of Foldscopes while being linked with NER.

Dr. Harshvardhan informed that in addition to the three new announcements, DBT has many major ongoing projects in the North-East in the following areas:

 Skilling Human Resources:

Twinning R&D Programme:  DBT has initiated 480 R&D twinning programs that link institutes in NER with those across the country. With an investment of Rs. 90 crores in the last three years, this effort has resulted in 252 research publications and 600 Junior and Senior Research fellowships awarded to the students to pursue biotechnology research.

To create an environment of training and research in medial biotechnology, DBT has supported Medical Diagnostic facilities at 11 medical colleges in NER with an investment of Rs. 40.00 crores. This facility is providing quality diagnostic services as well as carrying out research on various health problems prevalent in the region using modern biotechnology tools and technologies. So far more than 4.70 lakhs tests in different disease have been conducted by these diagnostic facility.

DBT’s ‘Overseas Associateship for North East Region’ has seen 208 scientists from NER being trained overseas with Rs. 5.25 crore invested every year to support this programme.  Through the DBT-NER Visiting Research Professorship (VRP) Scheme, 30 Scientists/Faculty are selected for bringing advancement in the field of biotechnology and life sciences in various institutions by sharing their vast experience and expertise with NER researchers and students.

At school levels, DBT has launched the ‘Biotechnology Labs in Senior Secondary schools (BLiSS) programme’, a first of its kind in India, for schools where biotechnology labs have been set up at 88 Senior Secondary Schools from NER with an investment of Rs. 2.20 crores.

For universities, DBT has set up 30 Bioinformatics Centre at an investment of Rs. 9 crores for conducting research on genomics, proteomics and data analysis. 

Under the ‘Biotech Industrial Training Programme’, deserving students have been provided stipends during their training at biotech/life science industries. DBT is also supporting 15 institutes in NER recognised as ‘Star colleges’ to provide them with enhanced lab infrastructure and mentoring by leading scientists and Fellows of various national academies.

To provide these students with access to world-class journals and publications, the DBT e-Library consortium (DeLCON) has been launched in partnership with 18 institutions of NER, which provides access to more than 900 high impact e-journals. With an investment of Rs. 54. crores in last 3 years, this facility has been extended to more than 150 colleges benefiting about 1500 life science students.

Infrastructure and Resource building

Infrastructural support for biotechnology has been provided under many programs. DBT has established 126 ‘Biotech Hubs’ at various institutions, universities and colleges to promote education, training and research in biological sciences including biotechnology. With over Rs. 22 crores invested in last three years, about 1000 training programmes were conducted by these hubs, with more than 1000 students, researchers and school teachers as beneficiaries.

DBT has also created biotech infrastructural facilities at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (​NEIGRIHMS), Shillong, at an investment of Rs. 4.50 crores.

The DBT has established many centres of excellence across NER to focus on different applications of biotechnology. The DBT-AAU Centre of Excellence on Agriculture Biotechnology at Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, promotes agriculture biotechnology research and is helping farmers by developing elite varieties for local crops and improving their yield. The centre, established with an investment of Rs. 36.70 crores.

The Centre of Excellence on Fisheries & Aquaculture Biotechnology (FAB) in Tripura has adopted 2 villages to provide local fishermen with good quality fish seeds to produce high quality fish products, benefiting 200 farmers.

DBT has also sanctioned an amount of Rs. 45.00 cores for the establishment of a regional level Animal House facility at Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Dibrugarh in Assam, which will be accessible to entire biomedical research community of NER for carrying out critical animal experiments in disease biology, molecular medicine, vaccinology and pharmacology.

Another related initiative is the Advance Animal Disease Diagnostic & Management Consortium (ADMaC) for surveillance and control of trans-boundary, exotic and zoonotic pathogens from NER. This programme will house a first Animal-BSL 3 lab in NER.

To conserve the delicate ecology of the region, DBT has sanctioned Rs. 26 crores for a major network programme on chemical ecology of NER in collaboration with leading institutions in India like IISc, NCBS, and UAS Bangalore.

Recognising the rich biodiversity of the region, DBT is also pushing for the development of ‘NER-Scented Rice’ -- a biotechnology inspired variant of the aromatic rice, and NER-Banana. The aromatic rice of NER, especially Joha and Black rice, are of premium value because of their aroma and high medicinal characteristics. But, these are also poor yielders and are susceptible to pest attacks. DBT is now seeking innovative approaches that use biotechnological intervention to ameliorate the agronomic characteristics of this aromatic rice and other scientific properties, besides yield enhancement. Under the various twinning programmes, projects like these are being implemented with an investment of Rs.16.67 crores. 

Existing programs flagged off by DBT in the region have been enormously successful with almost all the allocated budget being utilised for the proliferation of biotechnology in the North-Eastern states of India. Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences has been instrumental in implementing these initiatives in the region and has personally visited each and every state in NER to review on-the-spot progress of these programmes and to interact with students, academia, scientists and local communities. This has resulted in skilled human resources and enhanced research infrastructure and resource building

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, convened the Smart Agriculture Conclave in New Delhi from August 29 – 31 2017, in partnership with the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Research Councils UK (RCUK) India. The objective of this conclave was to set the stage for “FarmerZone” - a collective open-source data platform for smart agriculture which will use biological research and data to improve the lives of small and marginal farmers. It is envisaged that “FarmerZone” will help cater to all needs of the farmer, from dealing with climate change, weather predictions and soil, water, and seed requirements to providing market intelligence.

FarmerZone has been envisioned by the DBT and aligns with the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi’s call for effective decision-making in agriculture that integrates science, technology, innovation and the farm ecosystem.

With the agricultural conclave, DBT aims to advance the process of technological intervention to help small and marginal land-holding farmers, who constitute a major component of Indian agriculture.

The conclave identified the challenges faced in each agro-climatic region, and discussed possible solutions through scientific interventions. The FarmerZone platform will connect farmers and scientists, government officials, thought leaders in agriculture, economists and representatives from global companies who work in the big-data and e-commerce space to bring about technology-based localised agri-solutions.

The platform will work on getting relevant quality data related to agriculture into the cloud, develop sentinel sites to help link with farmers and evolve PPP based enterprises for data delivery.

Food security is a global concern and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of families depend on small-scale agriculture. The conclave worked to address this challenge collectively and showcased the enormous research strength of India and its international partners in a global context, to achieve impact and build strong and sustainable research and innovation partnerships.

Over two days, national and international experts in policy, IT, agritech companies, academics, farmers and representatives, along with research and innovation agencies from India, the UK, the US and other countries, brought ideas, implementable solutions and discussed their potential role in building new partnerships that will help co-design and develop “FarmerZone” - a public good that can be scaled up and applied across a number of different agro-climatic zones across the world.

The conclave was chaired by Secretary DBT Prof VijayRaghavan, who stated: “This conclave has brought together a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from farmers, scientists and businesses from the national and international arena, who share DBT’s vision to use research and technology to deliver “FarmerZone” that will focus on solutions in the farming ecosystem, especially for small and marginal farmers.”

British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG, said the joint initiative at the official as well as the academic level will further strengthen burgeoning relationship between the UK and India, and will go a long way to put to effect the enthusiasm of the Prime Ministers of both the nations to use research, innovation and technology for people’s benefits.

Deputy Executive, International for BBSRC Mr Steve Visscher CBE, said: “The UK Research Councils have a strong, growing partnership with India – a vital research nation. BBSRC and RCUK India are delighted to work with DBT to help make their vision of “FarmerZone” a reality that will benefit India and other areas in the world. This partnership demonstrates the vital role that research and innovation has in delivering prosperity and addressing shared global challenges.”