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India is well-poised to reboot the economy through science and technology, said Union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan while addressing a digital conference, RE-START – ‘Reboot the Economy through Science, Technology and Research Translations’, organised to celebrate the National Technology Day in New Delhi.
The conference was organised by the Technology Development Board (TDB) a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Vardhan emphasized that the S&T response reflects the collaborative spirit of the entire S&T ecosystem. “Indian Government, academia, scientists, startups, entrepreneurs and industry have been working relentlessly to find solutions to combat this pandemic. We must appreciate the efforts of our scientists, our entrepreneurs and our institutions working to find quick and deployable solutions for COVID-19. New discoveries, industry partnerships, and enhanced researches have thus, been rapidly developed and adopted,” said the minister.
“Within a short period of time, the nation has been able to mobilize a number of researchers to develop new testing kits, protective equipment, respiratory devices etc”, he added.
The minister also apprised the audience about the ‘COVID-19 Task Force’ set up by the government to map the COVID-19 related technology capabilities. “Our Government has vigorously supported the ‘Make in India’ Programme. This has brought in scientific institutions and startups to develop the COVID-19 tests, masks, sanitizers, personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators,” he further added.
While delivering his special address, Dr V K Saraswat, member, NITI Aayog pointed out the importance of technologies like new-age technologies, medical and manufacturing technologies in boosting the economy as the world adjusts to the new normal.
Principal scientific advisor to the Government of India, Professor K Vijay Raghavan, pointed out how technology can change the way we live our lives and the way we do things in future, particularly so in the post-COVID era. He pointed out that this is an opportunity to gear up for the future that lies ahead and a better-equipped R&D workforce and ecosystem will prepare India better for future challenges.
DST Secretary professor Ashutosh Sharma thus underlined the significance of the National Technology Day in view of the challenges faced during these times of COVID-19. He further emphasized that the COVID-19 crisis had led R&D and technology development to work in various modes. The private-public model has encouraged R&D to greater heights. Plausible translations, prototyping, start-ups and Industry have seen immense growth.
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