STATE TIMES NEWS
BHOPAL: Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated the 4-day India International Science Festival (IISF) here, organised by the union Ministry of Science & Technology.
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan presided over the opening ceremony.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, India is preparing for a quantum jump in “Quantum Technology”, which will define the world’s future and offer practical solutions for world ‘s pressing problems.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that IISF Bhopal is happening at a time when India has assumed the G20 Presidency in 2023, where it will be showcasing not only the multi pronged developmental dimensions but also India’s universally recognized Soft Power. He said that at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The Minister also informed that India will also be chairing Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meet in 2023, thus demonstrating India’s rising stature in International Forum.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said the pathbreaking decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi like unlocking of Space Sector in June 2020, liberalisation of Drone technologies, cabinet approval for geospatial guidelines and the recent green hydrogen mission worth Rs 20,000 crore have open new vistas for India’s rapid developmental march in the Amrit kaal.
The Minister said that “Technology and Innovations” are going to be the Torchbearers of 2047 Economy of India when it will celebrate 100 years of its independence.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that after the space sector was thrown open for private participation in June 2020, about 120 Deep Tech space StartUps have come up in India in two years. He said that the Space StartUps are not only sending rockets into space but are also involved in areas like satellite buildings , debris management and many more daily life utilities.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that today’s Science has entered every household as it not only relates to the economy of India or the Youth but is deeply intertwined with the future of India. He also underlined Inclusive Engagement and noted with pride that women scientists are taking a lead in major Science and Technology missions including the Gaganyan project.
It was informed that there would be 15 important events in four-days science festival in Bhopal, like the Student Science Village where 2500 students will be participating and getting exposed to new technologies and innovations. He said apart from Mega Start-ups Expo, 1500 young scientists will brainstorm on emerging technology in all areas including Biotechnology.
Om Prakash Sakhlecha, Minister for Science & Technology, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Prof. Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India, Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary Department of BioTechnology, Government of India, Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, DSIR, Dr. Sudhir Bhaduria, Secretary General, Vigyan Bharati, Dr. Sanjay Mishra, Senior Scientist, DBT, Nikunj Shrivastava, Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, MP and other senior officials of Government of India and Government of Madhya Pradesh joined the inaugural Event.
Some of the important Prime Speakers and Experts who are taking part in IISF, Bhopal are Dr. Krishna Ella, CMD, Bharat Biotech, Dr. Archana Sharma, CERN,Geneva, S.Somanath, Chairman, ISRO, Sh. Anand Deshpande, Founder & CMD Persistent Systems, Prof. A. P. Dimri, Director, DST-IIG, Dr. Anil Bhardwaj, Director, PRL, Prof. AmitavaPatra, Director, INST Mohali, Prof. Tapas Chakraborty, Director IACS.
Face-to-Face with New Frontiers in Science will be a platform for cordial interaction and short discussion-based sessions of students/ researchers with people par excellence in various disciplines of S&T. This will certainly inspire students to pursue science and research in his/ her career.
The themes selected for the Young Scientist Conference are Frontier areas of Science Research, Pandemic Challenges, impacts and research in vaccine development, Water resources, conservation, recycling and purification, Biodiversity, Environment & Climate Change, Food and Energy Security for Self-Reliant India.
New Age technologies show (22-24 January) aims to promote innovation in cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning, Cyber Security, Block Chain, Digital Currency Industry, 4.0, 5G/6G, Quantum Computing, Semiconductor Chip Design, Drone Technologies, Green Energies, Space Technologies, Sensor Technologies, Systems and Synthetic Biology.
There will be NATS Exhibition/ Innovation Showcase [100], where Students will showcase the engineered prototypes and products in various cutting-edge areas.
