President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (Imprint) India – a joint initiative of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in New Delhi. Imprint India seeks to develop a road map for research to solve major engineering and technology challenges in 10 technology domains relevant for the country.
Here are the key highlights from PM Modi’s speech:
PM Modi: Science is universal but technology has to be local.
PM Modi: To achieve one’s dreams, innovation is the key.
PM Modi: The biggest strength of ‘Make in India’ is human capital. Skill development is very essential.
PM Modi: Our President is a walking talking university. He is an ocean of knowledge.
PM Modi: Our initiative on solar energy has surprised many but if we are doing innovation in technology and energy, it can be a big service.
PM Modi: Society is becoming technology driven. It is essential to understand the importance of this & look towards affordable technology.
President Pranab Mukherjee also spoke on the occasion. Here are the key highlights of his speech:
Pranab Mukherjee: Education must deepen students’ linkage with society, develop scientific temper.
Pranab Mukherjee: Indian institutes have broken into list of world’s top 400 institutes for the first time.
‘Imprint India’is a Rs 1,000-crore project to kickstart original research in areas where the country is dependent on foreign technology.
‘Imprint India’ is an Inter Ministerial Group that is set up as a single-window mechanism to screen research proposals from India’s research and technology institutes. The group approves projects and allots funds for them.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development(HRD), the Ministry of Defence,the Department of Science & Technology, the Department of Biotechnology, and the Ministry of Rural Development, among others, together form the team of ‘Imprint India.’
The group has identified 10 areas where India is largely dependent on foreign technology and where little or no research and manufacturing has been initiated. These include healthcare, computers & information technology, energy, sustainable habitat, nano technology hardware, water resources and river systems, advanced materials, manufacturing, defence and environment and climate change.