Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) hosted Global Science, Research and Innovation Summit in partnership with Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (OPSA) on 2 May 2023 at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
Dr Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary-OPSA, delivered a special address at the inaugural session where she emphasised the importance of industrial investment in scientific research and innovation activities to strengthen the national innovation ecosystem. She also highlighted that Science and Technology is an integral part of India’s growth story and impressed upon the projected impact of recently announced technology missions in frontier areas such as quantum, semiconductor, hydrogen etc. She also added that it is imperative to take collective responsibility to address the challenges of funding, capacity development, and awareness through strategic approach for research and development (R&D) ecosystem to reach greater heights. Prof Rangan Banerjee, Director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi mentioned that ideas and research done by the students and faculties have the potential of creating an impact in the society with active engagement of the industry. He also stated that there is a need for creating opportunities for the trained and skilled workforce of the country to build an ecosystem of innovation for competitive advantage in technology. Prof KP Sudheer, Ex-Officio Principal Secretary, Science and Technology Department, Government of Kerala emphasized the partnerships between the industry and academia as crucial to drive the nation growth through innovation. Mr Ryuhei Nishi, First Secretary (Science and Technology), Embassy of Japan in India emphasized on increasing the people to people exchange between the two nations to accelerate the technology collaborations. He also highlighted the exciting synergies between the two countries in various field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), green technology, quantum technology and nano technology etc.
Mr Vipin Sondhi, Chairman, CII National Mission on Technology, Innovation & Research, in his remarks, mentioned that Innovation will happen only when researchers and industry work together in cohesive manner with utmost enablement and support of the government. He also stated that innovation of new products and services based on strong research must become part of our DNA to become the innovation superpower in the coming years. Mr Alok Nanda, Co-Chair, CII National Mission on Technology, Innovation & Research and CEO, GE India Technology Centre & CTO, GE Aerospace India, in his address, talked about the necessity of having novelty and economic value addition for any innovation. Dr Ashish Mohan, Executive Director, CII delivered the Vote of Thanks at the Inaugural Session. Three thought leadership reports on Advanced Materials, Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Management (STEM), and Building a National Research Quad were released during the summit.
A Special Panel on ‘Nurturing Future-Ready Skilled Workforce’ was also jointly organized by CII and the OPSA as part of summit under the aegis of India’s G20 Presidency. OPSA leads the G20 Chief Science Advisers Roundtable (CSAR) track, and the CII leads the Business-20 (B20) Engagement Group. The panel discussion resulted in key policy recommendations focused on digitalization and data skills, training and upskilling, ethics and human-centric approach, inclusivity and diversity, and demand-driven human resource development. The day long summit also included expert panels on fostering R&D investment, advancing women in STEM and promoting industry-academia interaction. The summit had the participation of more than 300 government dignitaries, thought leaders, Industry leaders, eminent academicians and research scholars.
