Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has appealed to the scientific community to Innovate for India (I4I) and create competitive advantage to make India Aatmanirbhar. Speaking at the curtain raiser for the 6th India International Science Festival 2020, being organized by the Ministries of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, he called upon the scientists to create products and services which can compete with the best in the world. The theme of the event was “Self-reliant India and Global Welfare.”
Underling the role of science and innovation in the development of any society, Minister Pradhan said that the COVID19 pandemic has once again demonstrated that we have to develop and strengthen our institutional and industrial capacity in scientific knowledge and innovation in all areas. Outlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, he said an Aatmanirbhar Bharat is a Bharat which does not only fulfills its own requirements but also is a beacon of hope for the global community, true to the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbukam.’
Minister Pradhan said that India’s strive to achieve self-reliance cannot be possible without the appropriate use of science and technology for economic development and societal benefit. Through a robust R&D ecosystem, we could develop state-of-the art products and services, make existing systems and processes more efficient. He appealed to the scientific community to integrate India’s rich ancient legacy in advanced scientific concepts and mathematics with modern scientific methods of investigation, to unravel the secrets behind many of these practices and scientifically establish them.
Appreciating the scientific community for driving India’s stride in various areas like space exploration, agriculture, Pharma, the Minister appealed to them to work even more towards solving real life industry and social problems.