Vinod Kumar, Reporter
New Delhi. “Increased budget allocations and several new technology and innovation initiatives particularly during the Covid time define the success story of New India,” stated Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (I/C) for Science & Technology, Minister of State(Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and in the Department of Space, Government of India while speaking at the session on ‘Preparedness of Scientific Community in New Normal: Role of S20’ at the CII Partnership Summit 2021, organised in association with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The Minister further mentioned that the sole purpose of any technological advancement or development is the upliftment and betterment of lives and bringing ease of living in the life of the common man. With new emerging technologies like AI, nanotech and genetic engineering, the world is witnessing a huge transformation and is ready to catapult in terms of technology development.
He stated that the partnership of the S20 scientific community group is vital as the world is struggling to develop vaccines and scale up manufacturing during the pandemic period. He added that as India assumes the presidency of G20 in 2023, it will be our endeavour to strengthen and develop this partnership among leading nations of scientific communities. He also highlighted the role of sustainable startups and their linkage for hitherto unexplored areas such as horticulture, agriculture and milk industry.
Prof Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro, Chair, S20 Indonesia 2022 & President, Indonesian Academy of Science emphasized the time for equity when global collaborations will catalyze the fair redistribution of wealth and security. He mentioned that a resilient health system, a sustainable low carbon health system, multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary S&T, people centric collaboration, and strengthening the nexus between data-research-policy-practice are the five priority areas for S20 to work together for stronger recovery and growth.
Dr Takaaki Kajita, President, Science Council of Japan, outlined that the scientific community in the ‘new normal’ ought to tackle global issues while further promoting international cooperation in order to bring together the wisdom of the world. He further stated that it is important to collaborate with all academic disciplines that transcend the distinction between humanities and sciences and alleviate public anxiety by disseminating science‐based knowledge about matters not well‐known or understood.
Mr Vipin Sondhi, Chairman, CII National Committee on Technology, R&D and Innovation & Managing Director & CEO, Ashok Leyland Limited, India emphasized that scientists across several nations have largely collaborated on the principle of open science and crucial role of S20 in orchestrating consensus-based recommendations. He further emphasized that the technologies such as AI, machine learning, augmented reality, genomics, and nanotechnology will be critical in driving and inspiring the innovations of tomorrow.
