GUWAHATI:
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday laid stress on building sustainable start-ups with indigenous innovation. He said, for start-ups to remain sustainable, innovation has to become a dynamic process.
Inaugurating “Iconic 75 Industry Connect (‘i’ Connect)” at CSIR-North East Institute of Science & Technology (CSIR-NEIST) in Upper Assam’s Jorhat town, Dr Singh said the innovative start-ups by the young entrepreneurs have to shoulder responsibility for the next 25 years of the glorious journey when we celebrate 100 years of India’s independence as a frontline nation in the world.
“The aim of industry connect is to explore globally benchmarked technologies and products for making the country self-sustaining and self-generating,” he said.
“While our research establishments are well equipped and competent to develop the world-class technologies and products in laboratories, there is a gap in terms of taking these to market and ultimately to the society for the benefit of common women and men of the country,” Dr Singh said.
The Union minister said, research and industry share a reciprocal relationship to thrive and grow and he urged the industry to have an equal stake in R&D through meaningful investment for making and taking the world-class products from laboratories to market. He also underlined the need for Brand building of the products to carve a niche in Indian and world markets.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of the government-Industry Connect, Dr Singh further said, the iconic 75 Industry Connect (‘i’-connect) events are aimed at forging partnerships with industry in 10 thematic /focus areas.
“This is the consolidated efforts of DSIR/CSIR, DBT, DST, MoES and other scientific departments of the government of India to reach out to industry. Coming together of several scientific departments for the cause of science is a phenomenon seldom seen before and the “Team Spirit” is the key mantra of the government,” he added.
He further said the reason to start the series of industry i-Connect from Jorhat stems from the Prime Minister’s high priority for the development of the northeastern region. He reminded that in 2014 itself, Modi had made it clear that the priority of the government is to bring the underdeveloped regions of Northeast, J&K and other Hill states and Island territories at par with the developed region of the country.
The minister expressed hope that the NE region as a land of unexplored potential will become the destination of future startups, entrepreneurship and new investment, due to its rich bio-diversity and huge bamboo resources.
The Union minister lauded the role of scientific organizations like CSIR, ISRO, DAE, DRDO, ICAR on one hand and DBT, DST and MoES on the other, to name a few, in India’s progressive journey and at the same added that the industry knows the intricacies of the process of taking the technologies from labs to land.
He said, in view of this, the forging of partnerships with industry is of paramount importance and called for further strengthening of ties between academia and industry to develop cutting edge technologies and products and deliver them in the shortest possible time frame to realise the vision of Prime Minister for “Samarth” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
He pointed out that CSIR, the country’s premier industrial research organisation is known for its close relationship with the industry and said that in the past it had contributed to the development and support to industries in areas like catalyst industry, agrochemical, pharma and leather to name a few.
The minister informed that each ‘i’-Connect event would include a variety of programmes such as mega-industry conferences, plenary talks, technical exhibitions, B2B meetings, round table discussions as well as breakout sessions which would enable the promotion and fostering of business(es).
He said today’s event will provide a platform for interaction amongst an important group of technology experts, government leaders, academic scholars, industry captains and start-ups; reaching out to MSMEs and start-ups in a consolidated manner with focus on funding, technology development, technology transfer; identification and establishment of Network (Govt scheme, R&D setup, Industry, MSMEs, startup, Academia) around focus areas; and finally capturing the requirements of the industry. He hoped that this would pave the way for more synergistic collaboration with the industry and other stakeholders.
“This unique series of 75 Industry Connect (‘i’-connect) events put up by the Ministries of Science & Technology & Earth Sciences to showcase the achievements in diverse S&T areas is part of several iconic events in line with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations of the Union government which commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements,” he also said.
“The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is dedicated to every countryman who has played an active role in the evolutionary journey of the country and potential and determination to support the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s initiatives for self-reliant India and a global economy,” he added.
In his address, Assam health and science and technology minister Keshab Mahanta said that the CSIR Compendium of Technologies for Entrepreneurship of Relevance in the Northeast will help in building technology-based entrepreneurship in the entire region. Mahanta said that the Assam government is financially supporting local innovations and start-ups to help them scale at the national and global levels.
He said Climate Change has emerged as a key area of concern and research and the government is roping in industry and academia to find out green solutions to face such challenges.
In his address, Dr V. K. Saraswat, Member NITI Aayog said that in the last 7-8 years, India has jumped from 85 to 47th rank in Global Innovation Index and that has created a major cultural shift in the start-up’s culture in the country. He said we can further leapfrog in the Innovation Index by bringing more and more industry in the innovation eco-system.
A presentation on CSIR Technologies in areas like Medicinal, Aromatic & Floriculture plants and their value addition, Food technologies and Leather & leather products were made before the august gathering.
Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Member S&T (NITI Aayog) and chairman i-Connect Advisory Committee Dr VK Saraswat were present in the function.
The meeting began with Saraswati Vandana which was followed by the ceremonial lighting of lamps by the dignitaries.