Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, urged the Indian diaspora to connect India to emerging technologies, share their rich expertise and help incorporate best practices for strengthening a thriving and enabling science ecosystem in their home country, at the India International Science Festival-- IISF 2020.
“India has laid out the red carpet for the scientific diaspora. The government wants you to remain in touch with your motherland and help India become a superpower,” he said at the Global Indian Scientist and Technocrats Meet (GIST), organized as part of the sixth edition of IISF, which is being organised online this year due to COVID-19.
“In order to institutionalise engagement mechanisms with our diaspora, we have recently launched an interactive national digital platform named Pravasi Bhartiya Academic and Scientific Seamark (PRABHAS). This portal is accessible to science and technology professionals, both from India and abroad, enabling them to engage effectively for coming up with innovative solutions to address societal challenges,” he added.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan pointed out that India is blessed with a large and vibrant scientific diaspora which is spread across the globe, and they have all individually and collectively had outstanding contributions in the progress of the country in which they reside. They hold extraordinary leadership positions in academia, industry, and government in some of the most technologically advanced countries.
“There is enormous untapped potential in connecting and engaging with the Indian diaspora not only for the benefit of our national development but also for global good,” he emphasised.
“Many of the challenges that the world is facing today - climate change, poverty, hunger, energy - can be effectively addressed only through science and technology and need seamless scientific and technological cooperation,” the Union Minister said. He also mentioned how Indian scientists have risen up to the challenge and made a phenomenal contribution in a record time to combat the pandemic, which has affected every single country.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan stressed that India is soon slated to be the vaccine manufacturer for the entire world in its fight against the pandemic.
Dr. Shekhar C Mande, Director General, CSIR, Dr. Vijay P. Bhatkar, President, Vijnana Bharati and Shri Jayant Sahasrabudhe, National Organising Secretary, Vijnana Bharati also addressed the virtual meet and talked about the contributions of Indian scientific diaspora, which was attended by Dr. S K Varshney, Head International co-operation Division of the Department of Science and Technology and other dignitaries.
GIST is an autonomous platform created by Vigyan Bharati to link global Indians with the underprivileged masses in the country, mostly residing in more than three lakh villages. It facilitates the identification of problems and connects it with the group that could engage itself in working out the required solution and its implementation. Since the last four years, GIST event is being organised as part of the India International Science Festival, an annual event to involve a wide range of stakeholders in the celebration of science.
