Government Initiatives

Some of the recent initiatives taken by the Government of India to promote science and technology in India are:

• In the Interim Budget 2024-25, the government announced corpus of Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 12 billion) to promote Innovation and StartUps coupled with a new scheme for Deep Tech StartUps in Defence.
• In 2023, The National Quantum Mission (NQM) was launched with a budget of ~US$ 726 million (Rs. 6003.65 crore) spanning from 2023-24 to 2030-31 aimed at fostering scientific and industrial R&D in Quantum Technology, propelling India's leadership in Quantum Technologies & Applications.
• In October 2023, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh launched state-of-art latest National Survey Network; the nationwide "Continuously Operating Reference Stations" (CORS) Network that will be operated by the Survey of India. The Survey of India has set up more than 1,000 CORS stations across India.
• Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya launches National Policy on Research and Development and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech Sector in India and Scheme for promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma MedTech Sector (PRIP) in September 2023.
• The Indian Space Policy-2023: It was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on April 6, also permits non-government entities (NGEs) to offer national and international space-based communication services, through self-owned, procured or leased geostationary orbit (GSO) and non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) satellite systems. NGSO is a reference to low earth orbit or medium earth orbits that are home to satellites providing broadband internet services from space.

The policy also encourages NGEs to establish and operate ground facilities for space object operations, such as telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) Earth Stations and Satellite Control Centres (SCCs).

• In 2023, Strengthening, Upscaling & Nurturing Local Innovations for Livelihood (SUNIL) Programme
  • Technology delivery & enterprise creation model for improving the efficiency of the livelihood system.
  • Technology interventions for Addressing Societal Needs (TIASN)
  • Capacity Building of Community-based organizations (CBOs), NGOs, Knowledge Institutions (KI) & Social Start-ups
• The Technology Interventions for Disabled and Elderly (TIDE) programme is a unique initiative of DST to create inclusiveness and universal accessibility for Divyangjan and the Elderly, through the promotion and development of various assistive tools, technologies, techniques, affordable & adaptable to the Indian milieu.
• In November 2022, India announced an additional contribution of US$ 5 million to the ASEAN-India Science and Technology fund to increase cooperation in sectors of public health, renewable energy, and smart agriculture.
• In November 2022, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) decided to work together to build a platform to support the development of new electric vehicle (EV) batteries that meet Indian regulations.
• A MoU was signed between the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Ministry of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, and the Ministry of Ayush. The MoU outlines potential research areas to investigate collaboration, convergence, and synergy for an evidence-based scientific intervention in the Ayush sector and further integration of these into the public health care system.
• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has received 31 bids from manufacturers showing interest in developing the vaccine for the monkeypox virus after the medical body put out an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development of vaccine and diagnostic kits.
• In 2021-22, African Centers of Excellence in a few specific scientific fields were strengthened by twinning with Indian institutes to carry out the Africa-India S&T Initiative Program by the Department of Science and Technology.
• The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has revamped the FIST (Fund for Improvement of S & T Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions) programme to align it with the objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat by developing R&D infrastructure for use by start-ups, manufacturing companies, and MSMEs, in addition to R&D operations in academic organisations.
• The Women Science programme of DST has started a new initiative to support women PG colleges under the CURIE (Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities) Program and invited proposals for the same.
• Under the Union Budget 2023-24, the government announced the allocation of Rs. 16,361 crore (US$ 1.99 billion) to the Department of Science and Technology.
• To further India with High-Performance Computing (HPC), four new Supercomputers have been installed since July 2021 - one each at IIT-Hyderabad, NABI-Mohali, CDAC-Bengaluru, and IIT Kanpur.
• Synergistic Training Program Utilizing the Scientific and Technological Infrastructure (STUTI), a new initiative, was recently unveiled to enhance human resource development and capacity building through nationwide open access to science and technology infrastructure.
• The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has partnered with Intel India to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative to advance deep tech-based research in India.
• In November 2021, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, in association with Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), launched the India International Science Festival 2021, a unique platform, with its theme being a celebration of creativity in science, technology and innovation for a prosperous India.
• In November 2021, Atal Innovation Mission and Vigyan Prasar collaborated to drive synergies between Atal Tinkering Labs and Vigyan Prasar’s unique platform, Engage with Science.
• In October 2021, the government announced plans to establish 75 science technology & innovation hubs in India for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) and empower them to contribute to the socio-economic improvement of the country.
• In October 2021, the government launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) to accelerate technology advancements and strengthen the space sector in the country.
• In October 2021, India and Denmark agreed to a five-year plan to implement a green strategic partnership for enhancing collaboration in various areas including science and technology.
• In October 2021, India and Europe held discussions to review the progress of science and technology bilateral cooperation and strengthen efforts on research and innovation.