Inaugurating the 106th Session of Indian Science Congress, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi underlined the necessity to move into the era of “Jai Anusandhan” as a step further to “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” coined by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and “Jai Vigyan” introduced by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The Prime Minister (PM) said that India's true strength will be in connecting its science, technology and innovation with its people. "Our Scientists must commit themselves to addressing problems of affordable healthcare, housing, clean air, water and energy, agricultural productivity and food processing,” he pointed out.
The five days event is being held from 3rd to 7th January, 2019 at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Jalandhar.
The PM emphasized that the pursuit of science is fulfilled through the achievement of two objectives: generation of profound or disruptive knowledge; and use of that knowledge for socio-economic good.
“While Science is universal, technology must be local for providing solutions relevant to local needs and conditions,” he added.
As we boost our discovery science ecosystem, we must also focus on innovation and start-ups, the PM said. He reiterated that the Government has launched the Atal Innovation Mission to promote innovation among our scientists and that more Technology Business Incubators have been established in the last four years than in the forty years before that.
In his address at 'Future India: Science and Technology at the Science Congress', PM urged the scientists to work towards making the life of the people better and easier. In this context, he called for time-bound solutions for drought management in low rainfall areas; early disaster warning systems; tackling malnutrition, diseases among children such as encephalitis; clean energy; clean drinking water; and cyber security.
The Prime Minister outlined some of the major achievements of science in India in 2018. These included production of aviation grade biofuel; Divya Nayan - a machine for visually impaired; inexpensive devices for diagnosis of cervical cancer, TB and dengue; and a real-time landslide warning system in the Sikkim-Darjeeling region.
Union Minister for Science & Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan thanked the scientific community of India, for putting India amongst the top ten countries in the world in the field of Science and Technology.
He urged the scientific community to focus on ensuring that the country uses its scientific knowledge for transforming the life of the poorest of the poor by creating cheap technologies for rural people, solving issues pertaining to water pollution, providing new vaccines, drugs and innovations in clean energy.
The five-day long event aims to bring together science fraternity across the world to discuss scientific innovation and research. The events include Plenary Sessions, Women’s Science Congress, Children Science Congress, and Science Exhibition showcasing various scientific innovations.
