India News | Indian Diaspora Major Stakeholder in New Science & Tech Policy Process: Vardhan

New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) Union minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday called for suggestions of the Indian diaspora in formulation of the new Science and Technology Innovation Policy, 2020, saying they are major stakeholders in the process.

Addressing experts at a virtual event, the minister said the scientific diaspora contributes a lot in both internationalisation of science and technology development and boosting the country's technology prowess.

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He said the Indian scientific diaspora is considered one of the most vibrant diaspora communities around the world. People of Indian origin holding leadership roles in academia, industry, and the government, even in some of the most technologically advanced countries are evidence of that, Vardhan said.

There is a huge potential in connecting and engaging with the Indian scientific diaspora, not only for the benefit of the country's national development but also for global development, the Science and Technology minister said.

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“Indian diaspora is a major stakeholder in the STI policy process and today's consultation aims at generating and streamlining key ideas in the making of STIP 2020.

“It is important to build policy-level mechanisms to create suitable opportunities for attracting best talents back home and also to create facilitating channels for the diaspora to contribute in national development from their respective locations,” he said.

The Department of Science Technology and the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor has been holding extensive consultations with different stake holders for the formulation of STIP 2020.

Four national policies – Science Policy Resolution of 1958, Technology Policy Statement of 1983, Science and Technology Policy of 2003 and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy of STIP 2013, in the area of Science and Technology are the milestones in the evolution of India's STI ecosystem, Vardhan said.

The upcoming STI policy 2020, he stressed, aims to address both first and second generation diaspora by facilitating institutional mechanisms for engagement with the Indian ecosystem.

Vardhan said the past few years have witnessed accelerated national growth placing India as a global STI leader.

“There has been a significant rise in the country's performance in terms of publications, patents and quality of research publications. Per capita R&D expenditure has also increased with greater participation from the private sector. Participation of women in extramural R&D projects has almost doubled,” he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)