(Daily News Scan - DNS English) 107th Indian Science Congress
The 107th Indian Science Congress concluded on 7th of January. It was held at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru from 3rd - 7th January 2020. “Innovate, Patent, Produce and prosper” are the four steps that will lead INDIA towards a faster development. “Innovation for the people and by the people is direction of our ‘New India”, were the words of the PRIME MINISTER during the inauguration speech of science congress. He also stressed on the fact that India’s growth depends on the achievements in science and technology sector.
In this DNS we will know about the Indian Science Congress, its aims and objectives.
The Indian Science Congress 2020 is the 107th edition. It is a 5 day summit, where policymakers, scientists, academians, inventors and politicians from across the world will be coming together. During the inauguration ceremony of the science congress, the Prime Minister launched the Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM) Portal. The portal has been designed to help the researchers to locate a specific type of facility they require to conduct their research and development work in India.
The Indian Science Congress aims to bridge the gap between farmers and technology developers. It also focused on increasing the crop productivity and diversify rural livelihood. The theme of this year’s congress is Science and Technology: Rural Development. To boost rural development with the help of science and technology, there was a Farmer’s Science congress held this year. During the inaugural event, the Prime Minister urged the young scientists of the country to work in the field of rural development because there are several opportunities for better innovations.
There were 28 plenary sessions on various aspects of science discoveries and technology. Other than this, there were many events in the 5 day convention. There was also a children science congress which was inaugurated by the Bharat Ratana awardee scientist C.N R. RAO. The children science congress aimed to provide a platform to children to showcase their projects and research. With this, the children also got an opportunity to interact with the scientists.
The first edition of this congress took place in the year 1914. Over the years it has evolved to include the participation of foreign scientists, women scientist and session for children. The science congress is organized by the Indian Science Congress Association every year in the first week of January. It was first started in Kolkata and has around 30,000 member scientists. This science congress is an outcome of the foresight and initiative of the two British Chemists, Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P. S. McMahon. They thought by organizing an annual meeting of research workers, scientific research in India might be encouraged.
Objectives of Indian Science Congress Association-
- Advance and promote science in India
- Hold an annual congress at a suitable place in India
- Publish journals
- Manage and secure funds and endowments for the promotion of science.
- To do and perform acts as are conducive to the above objectives
The silver jubilee celebration of the science congress took place in the year 1938 in Calcutta. From this year itself the participation of foreign scientists was initiated. In its 34th edition representatives were invited from foreign societies and academics. The Golden jubilee of the congress was marked in the year 1963.The 100th edition was hosted by the University of Calcutta, in January 2013.
The government has made many efforts to promote scientific temper in the country. National science technology and innovation policy 2013, views to promote scientific research through various programs and activities. Apart from this a science and engineering board has been created and a scheme called Innovation in Science pursuit for inspired research has been launched. This will attract talent towards science education.
