Science must go from labs to land to make India Atmanirbhar, PM tells scientists

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said science should aim to make India ‘Atmanirbhar’ and exhorted the scientific community to step up efforts for taking research and development from labs to land to achieve this goal.  

“Development in science should be aimed at fulfilling India’s needs, and this should be the inspiration for our scientific community, PM Modi said in his address to the Indian Science Congress being held in Nagpur.

In his address via video, the Prime Minister cited the country’s growing energy needs and urged the scientific community to go for innovations in the field that benefit the country.

Scientific attempts can turn into big achievements when it steps out of lab to reach the ground, when its impact ranges from global to grassroots, and when the changes are visible in research as well as real life, PM Modi pointed out.

“With 2023 being declared as the International Year of Millets, India’s millets and their use should be further improved with the use of science. When the determination to serve the country is combined with the passion for science, the results are phenomenal,” the Prime Minister said.

He also emphasised the importance of women in scientific research.

“Today, the country’s thinking is not only that women should be empowered through science, but science should also be empowered with the participation of women,” PM Modi remarked.

Since India is home to 17-18 per cent of the world population, progress of such a large number of people will lead to a surge in global advancement as well, he explained.

India is today using scientific means for achieving progress and the consequences are visible as the country has jumped to 40th rank in the global innovation index from 81 in 2015 in a list of 130 countries, PM Modi pointed out.