When: While addressing the 6th National Convention of Vigyan Bharati (Swadeshi Sciences movement) at MIT-ADT University, Pune on 23rd June 2024.
Key Points made in the statement :
1) Emphasis on Traditional Indian Knowledge
2) India's Progress in STEM since the last decade.
While addressing the gathering at at Vigyan Bharathi's Annual science convention , Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted the need for having separate data on health. He said that we need Indian solutions for Indian problems and Indian data for Indian innovations, as our spectrum and even our human phenotype, is different from the rest of the world and hence the need for combination of modern science and traditional knowledge which is our exclusive asset. He also mentioned about ‘Traditional Knowledge Digital library’ which the Science and technology department has started, to achieve best of both worlds.
Secondly, he listed India's progress with respect to scientific innovation & R&D activities, tracing scientific revolution that India has made, from having around 350 startups in 2014 to nearly 1.5 lakh in 2024, India's progress from 81st position in 2014 to 40th position in Global Innovation Index, India ranking world's 3rd in global startups and Number 3 w.r.t highest number of PhDs in science
and finally on success of India’s new Space policy which opened space
sector for private players, where India had only one startup
in 2022 and now we have around 200 startups in 2024.
In his concluding remark, Union minister said that India never had dearth of scientific acumen, all it
lacked was an enabling milieu, which now is possible because of current
dispensation under the leadership of PM Modi. He motivated the young scientific community to integrate Public–Private sectors with collective effort,
supplementing cultural as well as capital resources.