The National Science Day is celebrated on February 28th each year in India to honor the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian physicist C.V. Raman in 1928. This discovery was a groundbreaking achievement in the field of light scattering, for which C.V. Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. The day also commemorates contributions of scientists towards the development of the nation. This year, the theme of National Science Day is “Empowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science & Innovation for Viksit Bharat.”
The occasion was marked by the Ministry of Science & Technology announcing a number of initiatives, partnerships and reiterating Governmentโs commitment to the promotion of Science in the country. ย Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, who was present at the main celebratory event in Delhi ย said, ย โIndia embarked on a bold and transformative journey to establish India as a global hub for research, innovation, and scientific excellence to become Viksitbharat@2047โ.
As part of the celebration, nine new institutes were included inย NIDHI-ย iTBIs Inclusive Technology Business Incubatorsย with 50 Institutes already present. These include:
- National Engineering College, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu
- GITAM, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
- Indian Institute of Management, Jammu, J&K
- Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Odisha
- Sanskriti University, Mathura, UP
- AIIMS, Patna, Bihar
- Sona College of Technology, Salem, Tamil Nadu
- Assam Down Town University, Assam
- Sangam University, Bhilwara, Rajasthan
Also, nine more Universities under PURSE were supported on diverse scientific themes and different geographical regions with Rs 75 Cr
- Central University of South Bihar
- Central University of Tamil Nadu
- Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Chattisgarh
- Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttarakhand;
- Maharshi Dayanand University Rohtak, Haryana
- Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh
- Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University; Maharashtra
- Tezpur University; Assam
- Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Uttar Pradesh
Emphasizing on this yearโs theme i.e.ย โEmpowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science & Innovation for Viksit Bharat,โย was emphasized by Dr. Singh as a reflection of Indiaโs growing investment in its young scientists. He also dedicated the National Science Day to the youth of the country and seeks to enable the youth to undergo capacity building and prepare them to be the architects of 2047.
Reflecting on the past decade of Indiaโs scientific journey, the minster emphasized that India has transformed into the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, with a growing base of innovative, youth-led deep-tech startups. These startups are not only addressing domestic challenges but are also creating solutions for global issues such as communication, cybersecurity, data privacy, sustainable energy, healthcare advancements, and smart manufacturing.
Dr. Singh shared that according to the survey with a cutoff date of 31stย December has found that 5352 Indian Scientific Minds feature in Top 2 percent. Referring to Indiaโs progress in the Global Innovation Index, Dr. Singh said, โIn just ten years, India has ascended from 80th to 39th position, cementing its place among the worldโs most innovative nations.โ
Dr. Singh touched upon India’s groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs that have been a source of national pride, most notably the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moonโs south poleโmaking India the first country to achieve this extraordinary feat. He also highlighted the successful launch of ISRO’s SPADEX mission on December 30, 2024, a pioneering project in spacecraft rendezvous, docking, and undocking.
Dr. Singh underscored that India is poised to make its mark in the global quantum technology landscape, with a focus on quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum cryptography. Indian youth-led startups in deep-tech are at the forefront, developing solutions for global challenges.
Dr. Singh reiterated the governmentโs commitment to fulfilling the vision of โAtmanirbhar Bharatโ by developing indigenous technologies tailored to Indiaโs unique needs. The Ministry of Science and Technology is working relentlessly to ensure that innovations move from the lab to land, benefiting local communities while positioning India as a global leader in science and technology.
Among other highlights was ย exchange of an MoU betweenย IIT Kanpurย andย HAB Biomass Pvt. Ltd.ย on aย Green Corrosion Inhibitor from Manureย developed by the SHRI Cell of DST. And aย technology transferย betweenย CSIR-NBRIย andย Ankur Seeds, Nagpur. Dr. Singh also released theย Compendium of Selected Projects of the 31st NCSTC.
During the programme, The Science and Technology Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh, launched the DST’s new initiative forย Electric Vehicle Solutions, which is led by startups for component manufacturing in collaboration with the Ministry of Heavy Industries and ACMA.
In another landmark initiative, ย โน1,000 crore venture capital fund has been earmarked exclusively for the space sector. Approved by the Cabinet, this fund aims to foster Indiaโs growing base of nearly 300 space startups, positioning India as a leader in the space industry.
The Government has also allocated Rs 2,000 crore for Mission Mausam, a national program focused on enhancing weather forecasting capabilities. Additionally, the launch of the Anusandhan National Research Fund (NRF) with a corpus of โน50,000 crore marks a giant leap toward ensuring that Indiaโs scientific advancements are driven by research excellence and innovation.
The event was graced by Prof. A.K. Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India; Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, DG-CSIR and Secretary of DSIR; Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, President of INSA; Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary of DST; Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary of DBT; Sh. V. Narayanan, Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space; along with Dr. Rashmi Sharma, Head, NCSTC. Senior Officials of State S&T Councils, School & College students from 22 States across India joined the Science Day celebrations in Online mode.
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