Government Schemes to Promote Science and Technology in ...

Government Schemes to Promote Science and

Technology in IndiaBy Dr. Roman Saini

Department of Science and Technology

Science and Engineering Research schemes under DoST

Under this domain, the following important programs and schemes are operational:1. Mega Facilities for Basic Research

2. Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research Programme (INSPIRE)

3. FIST, SAIFs, and PURSE

4. Science and Technology for Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)

5. Programme for Science students

6. Swarnajayanti Fellowships

7. National Science & Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS)

8. Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI)

9. IMPRINT initiative

10. VAJRA Faculty Scheme

1. Mega Facilities for Basic Research

● This Programme aims to improve access to the state-of-the-art facilities for the Indian scientific community, especially from the academic sector.

● Because of their scale, technical complexity and huge requirements of funds, such projects are funded jointly and also implemented through multi-institutional efforts.

2. Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research Programme (INSPIRE)

● The programme has been designed to attract the youth of India towards science and technology.

● The basic objective of INSPIRE is to communicate the excitements of creative pursuit of science to the youth of the country.

● It is envisaged to attract talent to the study of science at an early age and thus build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R & D base.

● The programme does not believe in conducting competitive exams for the identification of talent at any level.

● It believes in and relies on the efficacy of the existing educational structure for the identification of talent.

● INSPIRE has three components:

1. Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent (SEATS)- INSPIRE Awards and INSPIRE Internship

2. Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)- INSPIRE Scholarship

3. Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC)- INSPIRE Fellowship and INSPIRE Faculty

INSPIRE- Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent (SEATS)

● It aims to attract talented youth to study science by providing INSPIRE Award of Rs. 5000 to one million young learners for the age group 10-15 years, ranging from Class VI to Class X standards.

● It arranges summer camps for about 50,000 science students of Class XI with global leaders in science to experience the joy of innovations on an annual basis through INSPIRE Internship.

INSPIRE- Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)

● It aims to enhance rates of attachment of talented youth to undertake higher education in science intensive programmes,

● It also provides scholarships and mentorship.

● The scheme offers 10,000 Scholarship every year at Rs 80,000 per year for the talented youth in the age group 17-22 years, for undertaking Bachelor and Masters level education in the natural sciences.

● The main feature of the scheme is the mentorship support provided to every scholar.

INSPIRE- Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC)

● It aims to attract, attach, retain and nourish talented young scientific Human Resource for strengthening the R&D foundation and base.

● It has two sub-components.

a. INSPIRE Fellowship- It offers 1000 fellowships for the age group of 22-27 years every year, for carrying out a doctoral degree in both basic and applied sciences including engineering and medicine.

b. INSPIRE Faculty- It offers assured opportunity every year for 1000 post-doctoral researchers in the age group of 27-32 years, through contractual and tenure track positions for 5 years in both basic and applied sciences area.

3. R&D Infrastructure - FIST, SAIFs and PURSE

1. Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Higher Educational Institutions (FIST)-

● It was launched in 2000-2001.

● It supports for five years to any PG College or a department/ centre/ School of any University or academic Institute for augmentation of post-graduate teaching and research facilities in four areas i.e.,

a. Basic Equipment,

b. Networking & Computational Facilities

c. Research Infrastructure and

d. Maintenance of equipment.

2. Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facilities (SAIFs)

● Its objectives are:○ To provide services of facilities of sophisticated analytical

instruments to scientists and academicians from academic institutes, R&D laboratories and industries to enable them to carry out measurements for R&D work.

○ To acquire and develop a capability for preventive maintenance and repair of sophisticated instruments.

○ To organise short-term courses/workshops on the use and application of various instruments and analytical techniques.

● Any individual researcher or group of researchers from any academic institutions or Industrial R&D or Industry can utilise the services of these analytical equipment facilities on nominal charges.

3. Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE)

● It provides support to performing universities across the country essentially for research man-power cost, augmentation of equipment and computational facilities, research consumables, organization of scientific conferences/workshops, travel and maintenance of the facilities.

● The support provided to each university has been classified under 'Flexible' and 'Fixed' Components.

● The expenditure heads under ‘Flexible Component’ include support for acquiring Equipment, Consumables, Infrastructure Facilities and Networking & Computational Facilities.

● The support areas in 'Fixed Components' covers expenditure heads like Manpower Cost, Travel, and Contingencies, Seminar/Workshops and Maintenance.

4. Science and Technology for Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)

● It has been launched to strengthen research in the areas of yoga and meditation.

● The objective of SATYAM is to harness knowledge obtained in academic institutions and other related agencies for finding Science & Technology-led solutions.

● That would enable individuals to cope with stress and strain associated with fast-changing social, economic, environmental and professional circumstances.

● Research seeks to identify various issues and challenges related to human well-being and addresses them.

● The programme encourages research in two major thematic areas:

○ Investigations on the effect of Yoga and meditation on physical and mental health

○ Investigations on the effect of Yoga & meditation on the body, brain, and mind in terms of basic processes occurring therein.

5. Programmes for Science Students

1. Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY)

● It provides Mentorship and Scholarship support to students to pursue study in Basic Sciences.

● It is funded by the DST and administered and implemented by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore.

● The objectives of the program are

○ To identify students starting from Class XI standards with talent and aptitude for research,

○ Help them realize their potential in their studies,

○ Encourage them to take up research careers in science and

○ Ensure the growth of the best scientific minds for research and development in the country.

2.Science Olympiad Programme

● These programs aim at promoting excellence in Science and Mathematics among pre-university students.

● Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), a National Centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai is the nodal organization for selection, training of students through Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) for the participation of students at various International Olympiads meet.

● DST, Board of Nuclear Sciences (Department of Atomic Energy), Department of Space, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Earth Sciences extends financial support for it.

● Olympiads are conducted in subjects like Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physics and Mathematics.

6. Swarnajayanti Fellowships Scheme

● Under this scheme, a selected number of young scientists, with the proven track record, are provided special assistance and support to enable them to pursue basic research in frontier areas of science and technology.

● The fellowships are scientist specific and not institution specific, very selective and have close academic monitoring.

● The support covers all the requirements for performing the research and includes a fellowship of Rs. 25,000/- per month for five years.

● The duration of the fellowship is for a period not exceeding five years.

7. National Science & Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS)

● NSTMIS is responsible for the collection, collation, analysis, and dissemination of information on resources devoted to S&T activities in the country.

● It undertakes broadly two types of research activities:

○ In-house Research

○ Sponsored Research

8. Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI)

● It facilitates a platform to the scientific community to the work for the better solution of challenges related with cognitive disorders and social issues through various psychological tools & batteries, early diagnosis & better therapies, intervention technologies and rehabilitation programmes.

● Cognitive Science Research Initiative is aimed to revolutionize research in various fields, such as:

○ Nature and origins of mental disorders, of physiological, social and neuro-chemical origins.

○ Design of better learning tools and educational paradigms.

● Design of better software technologies and artificial intelligence devices.

● Streamlining of social policy formulation and analysis.

● Thrust Areas include ○ Foundations of Cognition;

○ Language and Cognition;

○ Computational Intelligence;

○ Cognitive Psychology and

○ Cognitive Neuroscience etc.

9. IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT)

● It is the first-of-its-kind Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative to address major engineering challenges that the country must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.

● Department of Science and Technology is partnering with MHRD in implementing this program.

10. Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA)

● It has been launched in 2017 by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body of DST.

● The scheme offers adjunct/visiting faculty assignments to overseas scientists, faculty members and R&D professionals including Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to undertake high-quality collaborative research in cutting-edge areas of science and technology.

● These areas include interdisciplinary areas of priority such as energy, water, health, security, nutrition, materials, and manufacturing, etc. with one or more Indian collaborators of public funded academic and research institutions of India.

● The VAJRA Faculty should be an active researcher working in an overseas leading academic / research / industrial organization with significant accomplishments in R&D.

● The initial Faculty assignment is given for a period of one year extendable to subsequent years based on the collaborative outcome and interest.

● The residency period of VAJRA Faculty in the host institution would be for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months every year.

● VAJRA Faculty is provided US Dollars 15000 in the first month of residence and US Dollars 10000 in each of the subsequent month.

● It is a Central Plan Scheme and hence no State/UT-wise allocation is made.

● The scheme is launched recently on the pilot basis for initial 3-4 years with a target of enrolling 50-75 VAJRA Faculty per year.

Technology Development under DoST

Technology Watch and Foresighting (TWF)

● It was set up in April 2014 and works towards promoting and nurturing innovations in technology while looking into the future with a definite foresight strategy.

● Its objectives include:○ Close watch on current/emerging technologies globally in various

relevant sectors in the context of an evolving Foresight Framework.○ Development of a National Foresight System for Science &

Technology management.

○ Special focus on promoting industry-academia interaction/consortium in support of the above.

○ Development and support of S&T Programmes / Activities in line with the chosen Foresight Strategies

○ Documentation and dissemination of road maps, special foresight reports, and technology support programmes

○ Forging linkage with various stakeholder groups like Ministries/Departments/Industry/Academia and the Civil Society for effective use of the artefacts/reports on Technology Watch and Foresight Strategies.

Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (ICPS)● Its aim is to foster and promote R&D in Cyber-Physical Systems. ● A Cyber-Physical System (CPS) is a mechanism controlled or monitored by

computer-based algorithms, tightly integrated with the internet and its users. ● CPS are physical and engineered systems whose operations are monitored,

coordinated, controlled and integrated by a computing and communication core.

● Examples of CPS include medical devices and systems, aerospace systems, transportation vehicles and intelligent highways, defense system, robotics system, process control, factory automation, building and environmental control, and smart spaces.

National mission on ICPS (NM-ICPS)

● Union Cabinet recently approved National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical systems (NM-ICPS).

● It will be implemented by the Department of Space Science and Technology for 5 years.

● NM-ICPS is a comprehensive mission which aims to address technology development, application development, human resource development & skill enhancement, entrepreneurship and start-up development in CPS and associated technologies.

● The mission also proposes to establish

○ 15 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIH),

○ six numbers of Application Innovation Hubs (AIH)

○ four numbers of Technology Translation Research Parks (TTRP)

● These hubs and TTRPs will connect to Academics, Industry, Central Ministries and State Government.

● It will form a hub and spoke model which will help in developing solutions at reputed academic, R&D and other organizations across the country.

The implementation of the mission would

● develop and bring CPS and associated technologies into the country

● Help in adoption of CPS technologies to solve India specific issues

● produce Next Generation skilled manpower in CPS

● catalyze Translational Research

● accelerate entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem development in CPS

● Give impetus to advanced research in CPS, Technology development and higher education in Science, Technology and Engineering disciplines

● Bring India at par with other advanced countries

Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS)

● In a scenario of the large diversity of data sets, data users and data generating agencies, the programme aims at developing and demonstrating the use of spatial decision support tools for integrated planning and management of resources at the local level.

● Its objectives are

○ To demonstrate and promote the use of spatial data technologies for local level planning under diverse terrain conditions

○ To provide software support for data management, modeling and operation research

○ To promote R & D in spatial data technologies

○ To provide Sci-Tech inputs for framing policies related to spatial data technologies

○ To develop & demonstrate pilot scale geospatial data infrastructure and provide research support to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)

Science and Technology for Socio-Economic-Environment

Programme

Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development (SEED)

● The aim of SEED is "Working for technological empowerment and sustainable livelihoods at the grass root levels”.

● Its objectives are:

1. Providing opportunities to motivated scientists and field level workers to take up action oriented and location specific projects

2. Socio-economic upliftment of poor and disadvantaged sections of the society through appropriate science and technology interventions especially in the rural areas.

Water Technology Initiative (WTI) Programme

● It was initiated in August 2007 and aims to promote R&D activities aimed at providing safe drinking water at the affordable cost and adequate quantity using appropriate Science and Technology interventions evolved through indigenous efforts.

● Technology Mission on Winning, Augmentation, and Renovation (WAR) for Water has been launched in August 2009 to undertake research-led solutions, through a coordinated approach, to come out with technological options for various water challenges in different parts of the country.

● The activities of WAR for Water are now integrated with Water Technology Initiative.

Clean Energy Research Initiative (CERI)

● It was initiated in January 2009.

● It aims to develop national research competence to drive down the cost of clean energy through pre-competitive translational research, oriented research led to disruptive innovations & human and institutional capacity development.

● The scope of the initiative includes support for solar-oriented fundamental research for solar devices, sub-systems, and systems.

● The feasibility assessment of fresh ideas/ concepts, including various emerging and disruptive technologies, for their potential conversion into useful technology/ product is also supported.

Nanotechnology Mission of India● The Government of India launched a Mission on Nano Science and Technology

(Nano Mission) in May 2007.

● The objectives of the Nano-Mission are:

1. Basic Research Promotion – Funding of basic research by individual scientists and/or groups of scientists and creation of centers of excellence for pursuing studies leading to fundamental understanding of the matter that enables control and manipulation at the nanoscale.

2. Infrastructure Development for Nano Science & Technology Research- For optimal use of expensive and sophisticated facilities, it is proposed to establish a chain of shared facilities across the country.

3. Nano Applications and Technology Development Programmes- To catalyze Applications and Technology Development Programmes leading to products and devices, the Mission proposes to promote application-oriented R&D Projects, establish Nano Applications and Technology Development Centres, Nano-Technology Business Incubators etc.

4. Human Resource Development – The Mission shall focus on providing effective education and training to researchers and professionals in diversified fields so that a genuine interdisciplinary culture for nanoscale science, engineering and technology can emerge.

5. International Collaborations – It is planned to facilitate access to sophisticated research facilities abroad, establish joint centers of excellence and forge academia-industry partnerships at the international level wherever required and desirable.

National Supercomputing Mission, 2015● It envisages empowering the national academic and R&D institutions

spread over the country by installing a vast supercomputing grid comprising of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities.

● These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN).

● NKN is another programme of the government which connects academic institutions and R&D labs over a high-speed network.

● The Mission also includes the development of highly professional High- Performance Computing (HPC) aware human resource for meeting challenges of development of these applications.

● The Mission is implemented and steered jointly by the DST and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (earlier DeitY).

● Its objectives include:1. To make India one of the world leaders in Supercomputing and to enhance

India’s capability in solving grand challenge problems of national and global relevance

2. To empower our scientists and researchers with state-of-the-art supercomputing facilities and enable them to carry out cutting-edge research in their respective domains

3. To minimize redundancies and duplication of efforts, and optimize investments in supercomputing

4. To attain global competitiveness and ensure self-reliance in the strategic area of supercomputing technology

Application areas under National Supercomputing Mission

● Climate Modelling

● Weather Prediction

● Aerospace Engineering including CFD, CSM, CEM

● Computational Biology

● Molecular Dynamics

● Atomic Energy Simulations

● National Security/ Defence Applications

● Seismic Analysis

● Disaster Simulations and Management

● Computational Chemistry

● Computational Material Science and Nanomaterials

● Discoveries beyond Earth (Astrophysics)

● Large Complex Systems Simulations and Cyber-Physical Systems

● Big Data Analytics

● Finance

● Information repositories/ Government Information Systems

Women Scientists Scheme● Under this scheme, women scientists are being encouraged to pursue

research in frontier areas of science and engineering, on problems of societal relevance and to take up S&T-based internship followed by self-employment.

● Following three categories of fellowships, with research grants, are available for Indian citizen:○ Women Scientist Scheme-A: Research in Basic/Applied Science○ Women Scientist Scheme-B: S&T interventions for Societal Benefit○ Women Scientist Scheme-C: Internship in Intellectual Property Rights

(IPRs) for the Self-Employment

National Action Plan on Climate Change, 2008

● The Department of Science & Technology has been entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating two out of eight national missions launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

● These are:

a. National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)

b. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)

National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)

● Understanding the complex processes affecting the Himalayan Ecosystem and evolve suitable management and policy measures for sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan ecosystem.

● Creating and building capacities in different domains, networking of knowledge institutions engaged in research and development of a coherent database on the Himalayan ecosystem.

● The broad objectives of NMSHE include:

○ Detecting and decoupling natural and anthropogenic induced signals of global environmental changes in mountain ecosystems.

○ Studying traditional knowledge systems for community participation in adaptation, mitigation and coping mechanisms inclusive of farming and traditional healthcare systems and developing regional cooperation with neighboring countries.

○ Generating a strong database through monitoring and analysis, to eventually create a knowledge base for policy interventions.

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)

● The broad objectives of NMSKCC include:

○ Mapping of the knowledge and data resources relevant to climate change and positioning of a data sharing policy framework for building strategic knowledge among the various arms of the Government.

○ Identification of knowledge gaps and Formation of global technology watch groups help accomplish the task of technology selection and prioritization.

○ Networking of knowledge institutions after investing in critical mass of physical, intellectual and policy infrastructure resources, the creation of newly dedicated centers within the existing institutional framework.

○ Building international cooperation on S&T for climate change agenda through strategic alliances and assistance to the formulation of policies for a sustained developmental agenda within a responsive climate change framework and inputs to the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Ministry of External Affairs.

Department of Biotechnology

Centres of Excellence and Innovation in Biotechnology (CEIB)

● The scheme provides funding to augment and strengthen institutional research capacity for the promotion of excellence in interdisciplinary science and innovation in specific areas of biotechnology.

● The programme is intended for institutions with a substantial investment in and commitment to biotechnology research.

● The overall aim of the CEIB programme is to establish Centres of Excellence, provide long-term support to outstanding scientists and provide institutional/departmental Programme Support.

● The specific goal is to enhance the innovative ability of the institutions and investigators with well-developed research programme in specific areas of biotechnology.

● The DBT has already established Centres of Excellence in Biotechnology across the country.

● The Centres of Excellence have been established based on scientific and technical merit and not on geographical consideration.

● The specific goal of these centers is to enhance the innovative ability of the institutions and investigators with well-developed research programme in specific areas of biotechnology.

Research Resources, Service Facilities and Platforms

● They provide support to a broad range of multidisciplinary, shared research resources critical for advancing various areas of life sciences and biotechnology.

● The support aims for the advancement of scientific knowledge and development of quality and skilled manpower and ultimately the development of cutting-edge and sophisticated translational technologies for the commercialization through the development of necessary scientific infrastructure.

● Its objectives include:

○ Establishment of infrastructure and facilities for Life Science and Biotechnology R&D in universities or institutions

○ Encouraging the utilization of the established infrastructure on shared or service basis

○ Establishment of National Repositories: Repositories for biomaterials ensure

○ A continuous supply of high-quality viruses, bacteria, and fungi, as well as cell lines

○ Genetic stocks and advanced sequencing facilities○ Promotion of development of indigenous biochemical reagents

○ Clinical and field trial facilities○ Access to synchrotron beamline ○ Animal house facilities○ National Primate Research Centres○ Bioclusters, Bio-incubators, Biotech parks○ GLP certified laboratories ○ Viral and regulatory testing facilities○ Laboratories for biosafety assessment○ National Gene Vector Laboratories○ Islet Cell Resource Centres ○ Human tissue and organ resource and animal biotechnology platforms○ Noninvasive imaging and spectroscopy.

Biotechnology for Societal Development

● The main objective of the programme is to promote the use of biotechnological processes and tools for the benefit of the disadvantaged section of the society comprising women, rural population, SC/ST and weaker section.

● The programme aims to create the platform for self-employment generation among the target population and diffusion of proven and field-tested technologies through demonstration, training and extension activities.

● The broad focus areas are:

○ Agriculture and Allied Sector

○ Health, Nutrition & Sanitation

○ Value Chain and Post Harvest

○ Agripreneurship Development

○ Biodiversity conservation

○ Rehabilitation and Restoration

○ Measures for Natural Calamity

● Examples are:

○ “Network Project on Prasad Kit” and running of mobile ambulatory clinics for the farmers.

○ Low-cost polyhouse construction for raising nursery-planting for the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants with the implementation of rural bio-resource complexes at State Agricultural Universities (SAUs)

○ A programme for the rehabilitation of Tsunami victims was undertaken where projects were supported to benefit a large number of coastal fishermen.

○ Another two new projects have been supported for the relief of flash flood-affected areas in Uttarakhand as a rehabilitation programme.

Biotechnology Parks● Biotechnology parks are established to facilitate product advancement

and innovation through the development of biotechnology industrial cluster and to produce biotechnologist and entrepreneurs who have the strong foundation in research and innovation.

● DBT has supported the following biotechnology parks and incubation centres located in different states for the promotion of Biotech start-up companies and the promotion of Public-Private Partnerships.○ Lucknow Biotechnology Park, Uttar Pradesh○ Biotechnology Incubation Centre, Genome Valley, Hyderabad, Andhra

Pradesh

○ Biotechnology Core Instrumentation Facility (BTC IF) at TIDCO Centre for Life Sciences (TICEL), Chennai

○ The Golden Jubilee Biotech Park for Women, Siruseri, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu

○ Guwahati Technology Incubation Centre (GBPIC) at Biotech Park, Assam

○ Bangalore Biotech Park, Karnataka

○ KRIBS BioNest, Kochi, Kerala (previously called KINFRA Biotech Park)

Glue Grant

● The scheme has been designed to link clinical science departments through inter-institutional linkages with basic science institutes & university departments with medical or veterinary school departments.

● The scheme is under implementation since 2010-11.

● Its purpose is to establish a long-term partnership programmes between clinical and basic sciences.

● The key components of the scheme:

○ PhD programme in which focus is on disease biology, early translation, interdisciplinary research, or technology innovation.

○ Joint participation in mutual education and training activities at post-graduate or PhD level with the focus on building science competency of medical background scholars and faculty, and disease orientation of basic scientists in areas of interest.

○ Joint workshops, small science meetings, research priority development exercise in areas of mutual interest.

○ Collaborative research projects.

Special Programmes for North-East Region

● NER holds one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in India.

● Most of it remains to be characterized for its medicinal, aromatic, edibility, ecological and ornamental values.

● There are, for example, around 800 medicinal plants and herbs in a remote area of Sikkim alone, their properties are known to only a fast vanishing population of local shamans, and their active ingredients largely uncharacterized.

● The tropical climate of the region with high rainfall and plenty of sunlight and bio-geographical positioning is responsible for rich biodiversity- both floral and faunal.

● Biotechnological research & development work in NER holds the promise of yielding highly profitable patents on endemic species.

● The rich genetic resources spread across diverse ecosystems and nurtured by indigenous communities, provide ample opportunities for furthering the economic development of the region.

● Thus, NER offers unique potential for biotechnology-based interventions for an overall development of the region.

● In 2009-10, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) set up the North Eastern Region-Biotechnology Programme Management Cell (NER-BPMC) through Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL) for coordination and monitoring of biotechnology programmes in the North Eastern States of India.

NER- Biotechnology Programme Management Cell

● NER-BPMC has initiated a number of activities in the following areas:

○ Agriculture: Biotechnology Led Organic Farming, Secondary Agriculture

○ Environmental Biotechnology Biodiversity Conservation & Utilisation

○ Medical Biotechnology: Strengthening Molecular Diagnostics of infectious diseases and non-infectious disorders; R&D programmes for understanding molecular aspects of pathogenesis

○ Infrastructure Development and Centres of excellence at NRC Mithun, Jharnapani, Nagaland, and at NRC-Yak at Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh

○ Capacity building: Short-term training courses in research methodology, modern methods of molecular biology and advanced techniques in diagnostics at Advanced Diagnostic Centres at Dibrugarh (Assam) for genetic disorders and at Shillong (Meghalaya) & Aizawl (Mizoram) for Cancer and hemoglobinopathies

○ R&D Twinning programme: Linking NER labs with the leading labs outside NER for R&D projects

○ IPR and Knowledge networks: Biotech Hubs for the North Eastern States; North Eastern Bioinformatics Network; DBT’s e-Library Consortia (NER-DeLCON).

○ Human resource development through National and International Associateship and Entrepreneurship development.

Women Scientist SchemeBiotechnology Career Advancement and Re-orientation Programme

(Bio-CARe) ● It is a scheme for women scientists.● The programme is mainly for Career Development of employed/

unemployed women scientists up to 55 years of age for whom it is the first extramural research grant.

● The scheme is open to all areas of Life Science/biology (including agriculture, veterinary science, and medicine).

● Under the Research Grant Opportunity (RGO), under which a 3-5 year research grant is provided.

Innovate In India (I3)

● It is an industry-academia collaborative mission developed by Department of Biotechnology in association with the World Bank.

● The program focuses on accelerating discovery research to early development of Biopharmaceuticals.

● The aim of the mission is to develop Indian technologies and Product development capabilities into a globally competitive industry for the next decade.

● Additionally, it also aims to transform the health standards of Indian population through affordable technologies and product development.

Highlights of I3 Mission

● Focus on the development of new vaccines, bio-therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices to address the demand inside the country.

● Strengthen and create shared infrastructure for product development, validation of centre of excellences for knowledge generation and skills development.

● Transform India into a global hub for sustainable cutting-edge technology in research and development in Biotechnology.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

BPO Promotion Schemes

● It includes:

○ North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS)

○ India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS)

North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS)● It is envisaged under Digital India Programme and seeks to incentivize

establishment of 5,000 seats in respect of BPO/ITES operations in North East Region (NER), at an outlay of INR 50 Crore up to 31st March 2019.

● It aims to create employment opportunities for about 15,000 persons considering three shifts BPO/ITES operations.

● The objectives of NEBPS are as under:

○ Creation of employment opportunities for the local youth in NER, by promoting the IT/ITES Industry particularly by setting up the BPO/ITES operations.

○ Promotion of investment in IT/ITES Sector in NER in order to expand the base of IT Industry and secure balanced regional growth.

● The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), is the implementing Agency of NEBPS.

India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS)

● It has been approved under Digital India Programme, to incentivize BPO/ITES Operations across the country (excluding certain Cities and the States in North East Region) for the creation of employment opportunities for the youths and growth of IT-ITES Industry.

● IBPS aims to incentivize establishment of around 48,000 seats distributed among each State in the proportion of State’s population, with financial support up to INR 1 lakh/seat in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF), with an outlay of INR 493 crore up to 31st March 2019.

Digital India Programme, 2015

Vision and Vision Areas

● The Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India.

● The vision of the Digital India programme is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

● The programme is centered around three key vision areas:

○ Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen

○ Governance & Services on Demand

○ Digital Empowerment of Citizens

Vision Area I: Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen

● Key components include:

○ Availability of high-speed internet as a core utility for delivery of services to citizens

○ Cradle to grave digital identity that is unique, lifelong, online and authenticable to every citizen

○ Mobile phone & bank account enabling citizen participation in digital & financial space

○ Easy access to a Common Service Centre

○ Shareable private space on a public cloud

○ Safe and secure cyberspace

Vision Area II: Governance & Services on Demand● The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) was approved in 2006 to take a

holistic view of e-governance initiatives across the country, integrating them into a collective vision.

● Around this idea, a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is being developed, and large-scale digitization of records is taking place to enable easy and reliable access over the internet.

● The ultimate objective was to make all government services accessible to the common man in their locality, through common service delivery outlets, and ensure efficiency, transparency, and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man.

● Key components include:

○ Seamlessly integrated services across departments or jurisdictions

○ Availability of services in real time from online & mobile platforms

○ All citizen entitlements to be portable and available on the cloud

○ Digitally transformed services for improving ease of doing business

○ Making financial transactions electronic & cashless

○ Leveraging Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) for decision support systems & development

Vision Area III: Digital Empowerment of Citizens

● Key components include:

○ Universal digital literacy

○ Universally accessible digital resources

○ Availability of digital resources/services in Indian languages

○ Collaborative digital platforms for participative governance

○ Citizens not required to physically submit Govt. documents/certificates

Scope of Digital India● Preparing India for a knowledge future.● Being transformative that is to realize “IT (Indian Talent) + IT

(Information Technology) = IT (India Tomorrow)”● Making technology central to enabling change. ● On being an Umbrella Programme, covering many departments.● The Digital India Programme will pull together many existing schemes

which would be restructured and re-focused and implemented in a synchronized manner.

● The common branding of the programmes as Digital India highlights their transformative impact.

Programme Management Structure● The programme management structure consists of a :

○ Monitoring Committee on Digital India headed by the Prime Minister

○ Digital India Advisory Group chaired by the Minister of Communications & IT

○ Apex Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.

○ Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for programme level policy decisions.

○ Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) / Committee on Non Plan Expenditure (CNE).

● The central ministries/departments and state governments concerned would have the overall responsibility for implementation of various Mission Mode and other projects under the Digital India Programme.

Pillars of Digital India Programme

Pillar-1: Broadband Highways● This covers three subcomponents, namely

1. Broadband for All - Rural, 2. Broadband for All - Urban and 3. National Information Infrastructure (NII).

Pillar-2: Universal Access To Mobile Connectivity● This initiative focuses on network penetration and filling the gaps in

connectivity in the country. ● The Department of Telecommunications will be the nodal department.

Pillar-3: Public Internet Access Programme

● The two sub-components of Public Internet Access Programme are

1. Common Services Centres (CSCs)

2. Post Offices as multi-service centers

Pillar-4: e-Governance- Reforming Government Through Technology

● The guiding principles for reforming Government through technology are:

1. Form simplification and field reduction,

2. Online applications and tracking,

3. Online repositories,

4. Integration of services and platforms

Pillar-5: e-Kranti-Electronic Delivery Of Services

Pillar-6: Information For All

● MyGov.in, a platform for citizen engagement in governance has been launched on 26th July 2014, as a medium to exchange ideas/ suggestions with Government.

● It will facilitate 2-way communication between citizens and Government to bring in good governance.

Pillar-7: Electronics Manufacturing

● This pillar focuses on promoting electronics manufacturing in the country with the target of NET ZERO Imports by 2020.

Pillar-8: IT For Jobs

● This pillar focuses on providing training to the youth in the skills required for availing employment opportunities in the IT/ITES sector.

Pillar-9: Early Harvest Programmes

National Information Infrastructure (NII)

● NII would integrate the network and cloud infrastructure in the country to provide high-speed connectivity and cloud platform to various government departments up to the panchayat level.

● These infrastructure components include networks such as ○ State Wide Area Network (SWAN), ○ National Knowledge Network (NKN), ○ National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), ○ Government User Network (GUN) and ○ the MeghRaj Cloud.

Common Services Centres (CSCs)● CSCs would be strengthened and its number would be increased to 250,000

i.e. one CSC in each Gram Panchayat.

● CSCs would be made viable and multi-functional end-points for delivery of government and business services.

● MeitY would be the nodal ministry to implement the scheme.

CSC 2.0 -

● It aims to cover 2.5 Lakhs of Gram Panchayats for maximizing delivery of e-Services to the citizens.

● It is envisaged as transaction based and service delivery based model, delivering a large bouquet of e-services through a single delivery platform, which would increase the sustainability of the CSCs across the Country.

e-Kranti: Electronic Delivery Of Services

● The vision of e-Kranti is “Transforming e-Governance for Transforming Governance”.

● The key principles of e-Kranti are as follows:

1. Transformation and not Translation

2. Integrated Services and not Individual Services.

3. Government Process Reengineering (GPR) to be mandatory in every MMP

4. ICT Infrastructure on Demand for all government offices

5. Cloud by Default for Government Departments.

6. Mobile First - delivery of all services through mobile.

7. Fast Tracking Approvals

8. Mandating Standards and Protocols in all e-governance projects.

9. Language Localization

10. National GIS (Geo-Spatial Information System) to be leveraged as a platform and as a service in e-Governance projects.

Mission Mode Projects (MMP)

● There are 44 Mission Mode Projects under the e-Kranti programme. These mission mode projects are grouped into Central, State, and Integrated projects.

● Technology for Education: e-Education

○ This refers to broadband and wi-fi connectivity to Schools, the digital literacy program at the national level and leveraging Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs).

● Technology for Farmers

○ This would facilitate farmers to get real-time price information, online ordering of inputs and online cash, loan, and relief payment with mobile banking.

● Technology for Health: e-Healthcare

○ This refers to the use of technology for better healthcare service delivery that includes online medical consultation, online medical records, online medicine supply, pan-India exchange for patient information, etc.

● Technology for Security

○ This refers to provisioning off Mobile based emergency services and disaster related services to citizens on a real-time basis so that they can take precautionary measures well in time and minimize loss of lives and properties.

● Technology for Financial Inclusion

○ Financial inclusion shall be strengthened using mobile banking, Micro-ATM program, and CSCs/ Post Offices.

● Technology for Justice

○ Interoperable Criminal Justice System shall be strengthened by leveraging several related applications, i.e. e-Courts, e-Police, e-Jails, and e-Prosecution.

● Technology for Cyber Security

○ National Cyber Security Co-ordination Centre would be set up to ensure safe and secure cyberspace within the country.

National Policy on Electronics (NPE), 2012

The highlights of the policy initiative include:

● Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPs) subsidy of 25% of capital expenditure is available and all excise/CVD paid on capital equipment is reimbursed.

● Electronic Manufacturing Clusters Scheme which provides 50% of the cost for development of infrastructure and common facilities in Greenfield clusters and 75% of the cost for Brownfield clusters.

● Preference to domestically manufactured goods in Government procurement. The extent of government procurement will not be less than 30%. Around 30 electronic products are already notified under this scheme.

● Export of domestically manufactured Set-top boxes and other electronic products are eligible for 2-5 % incentive in Focus Product Scheme under the Foreign Trade Policy.

● Electronic Development Funds for Research & Development and Innovation in Electronics sector is under active consideration to support start-ups in electronics and IP generation in the area of electronics.

● Department has approved setting up of two semiconductor wafer Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in the country.

● 3000 PhDs will be generated through this program in the area of electronics & IT/ITES.

● Providing opportunities for skill development for the private sector through two Sector Skills Councils- Telecom and Electronics.

● Opportunities for investment in testing laboratory infrastructure under the mandatory standards regime brought in force.

● Several State Governments, including Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, have already announced complementary incentives as part of their State Electronic Policies.

● Electronic Manufacturing Clusters have been announced by states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Kerala.

● Other states are also in process of taking similar initiatives, thereby offering a host of incentives and facilities for ESDM investors.

● In addition, to recognize and motivate the Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Electronic System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) sector, the Government of India (GoI) has announced a national scheme for the sector.

● The Scheme aims at providing financial support to MSMEs to promote manufacturing, to build quality into Indian manufacturing & also to encourage exporters.

National Policy on Electronics, 2019● The Policy envisions positioning India as a global hub for Electronics

System Design and Manufacturing - (ESDM) by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components, including chipsets, and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally.

● The NPE, 2012 successfully consolidated the foundations for a competitive Indian ESDM value chain. NPE 2019 proposes to build on that foundation to propel the growth of ESDM industry in the country.

● The National Policy of Electronics 2019 (NPE 2019) replaces the National Policy of Electronics 2012 (NPE 2012).

Salient features

1. Create eco-system for globally competitive ESDM sector: Promoting domestic manufacturing and export in the entire value-chain of ESDM.

2. Provide incentives and support for manufacturing of core electronic components.

3. Provide special package of incentives for mega projects which are extremely high-tech and entail huge investments, such as semiconductor facilities display fabrication, etc.

4. Formulate suitable schemes and incentive mechanisms to encourage new units and expansion of existing units.

5. Promote Industry-led R&D and innovation in all sub-sectors of electronics, including grass root level innovations and early stage Start-ups in emerging technology areas such as 5G, loT/ Sensors, Artificial Intelligence (Al), Machine Learning, Virtual Reality (VR), Drones, Robotics, Additive Manufacturing, Photonics, Nano-based devices, etc.

6. Provide incentives and support for significantly enhancing availability of skilled manpower, including re-skilling.

7. Special thrust on Fabless Chip Design Industry, Medical Electronic Devices Industry, Automotive Electronics Industry and Power Electronics for Mobility and Strategic Electronics Industry.

8. Create Sovereign Patent Fund (SPF) to promote the development and acquisition of IPs in ESDM sector.

9. Promote trusted electronics value chain initiatives to improve national cyber security profile.

Targets● Promote domestic manufacturing and export in the entire value-chain of

ESDM for economic development to achieve a turnover of USD 400 billion (approximately INR 26,00,000 crore) by 2025.

● This will include targeted production of 1.0 billion (100 crore) mobile handsets by 2025, valued at USD 190 billion (approximately INR 13,00,000 crore), including 600 million (60 crore) mobile handsets valued at USD 110 billion (approximately INR 7,00,000 crore) for export.

Impact

It will

● lead to formulation of several schemes, initiatives, projects, etc., in consultation with the concerned Ministries/ Departments, for the development of ESDM sector in the country.

● enable flow of investment and technology, leading to higher value addition in the domestically manufactured electronic products

● enable increased electronics hardware manufacturing in the country and their export

● generate substantial employment opportunities

Early Harvest Programmes● Early Harvest Programmes basically consist of those projects which are to

be implemented within a short timeline.

● The projects under the Early Harvest Programme are:

○ IT Platform for Messaging

○ Government Greetings to be e-Greeting

○ Biometric Attendances

○ Wi-Fi in all Universities

○ Secure e-Mail within Government

○ Standardize Government e-Mail Design

○ Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

○ School Books to be e-Books

○ SMS Based Weather Information, Disaster Alerts

○ National Portal for Lost and Found Children

Cabinet approved missionsThe Union Cabinet has approved

1. Setting up of a National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, to drive clean, connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.

2. Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) valid for 5 years till 2024 to support setting up of a few large-scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell-manufacturing Giga plants in India.

3. Creation of a PMP valid for 5 years till 2024 to localize production across the entire Electric Vehicles value chain.

National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage

● It is a multi-disciplinary mission with an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee that will be chaired by CEO NITI Aayog.

● The Mission will recommend and drive the strategies for transformative mobility and Phased Manufacturing Programmes for Electric Vehicles (EV), EV Components and Batteries.

● The National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage will determine the contours of PMP, and will finalise the details of such a program.

● The details of the value addition that can be achieved with each phase of localisation will be finalised by the Mission with a clear Make in India strategy for the electric vehicle components as well as battery.

● The Mission will coordinate with key stakeholders in Ministries/ Departments and the states to integrate various initiatives to transform mobility in India.

Background

● During the Global Mobility Summit held in September 2018, Prime Minister had outlined the vision for the future of mobility in India.

● The vision was based on 7 C’s which are Common, Connected, Convenient, Congestion-free, Charged, Clean and Cutting-edge mobility.

● Mobility has the potential to drive the economy forward and positively impact the lives of citizens both in urban and rural areas.

● Affordable, accessible, inclusive and safe mobility solutions are primary strategic levers for rapid economic development and improving ‘Ease of Living’.

● Shared, connected and clean mobility solutions are increasingly becoming the key principles of effective mobility solutions across the world.

● Given its commitment to climate goals, India needs to adopt effective strategies to place itself as a key driver of the mobility revolution in the world.

Focus areas

The Mission is particularly focussed on

1. Manufacturing

2. Specification & standards

3. Fiscal incentives

4. Overall demand creation and projections

5. Regulatory framework

6. Research & Development

Impact

● The Mission will drive mobility solutions that will bring in significant benefits to the industry, economy and country.

● These solutions will help improve air quality in cities along with reducing India’s oil import dependence and enhance the uptake of renewable energy and storage solutions.

● The Mission will lay down the strategy and roadmap which will enable India to leverage upon its size and scale to develop a competitive domestic manufacturing ecosystem for electric mobility.

National Policy on software products● It was approved by the Union Cabinet recently.

● It aims to develop India as the global software product hub, driven by innovation, improved commercialisation, sustainable Intellectual Property (IP), promoting technology start ups and specialized skill sets.

● Further, the Policy aims to align with other Government initiatives such as Start-up India, Make in India and Digital India, Skill India etc so as to create Indian Software products Industry of USD ~70-80 billion with direct & indirect employment of ~3.5 million by 2025.

Five Missions

● To promote the creation of a sustainable Indian software product industry, driven by intellectual property (IP), leading to a ten-fold increase in India share of the Global Software product market by 2025.

● To nurture 10,000 technology startups in software product industry, including 1000 such technology startups in Tier-II and Tier-III towns & cities.

● To generate direct and indirect employment for 3.5 million people by 2025.

● To create a talent pool for software product industry through

○ up-skilling of 1,000,000 IT professionals,

○ motivating 100,000 school and college students and

○ generating 10,000 specialized professionals that can provide leadership.

● To build a cluster-based innovation driven ecosystem by developing 20 sectoral and strategically located software product development clusters.

● These clusters should have integrated ICT infrastructure, marketing, incubation, R&D/testbeds and mentoring support.

● In order to evolve and monitor scheme & programmes for the implementation of this policy, National Software Products Mission will be set up with participation from Government, Academia and Industry.

Benefits

● The Software product ecosystem is characterized by innovations, Intellectual Property (IP) creation and large value addition increase in productivity.

● It has the potential to significantly boost revenues and exports in the sector, create substantive employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in emerging technologies.

● It can also leverage opportunities available under the Digital India Programme, thus, leading to a boost in inclusive and sustainable growth.

Thank You!