Why did two Nobel laureates say PM Modi has better approach to science and tech?

New Delhi, Jan 4: Two Nobel laureates who held a brief informal meeting with PM Narendra Modi after the inauguration of 106th Indian Science Congress in Phagwara, hailed Indian Prime Minister's understanding the importance of science for a country's development and vision for its promotion.

In an exclusive interview to Indian Express, Nobel laureate Israeli biochemist Avram Hershko, said, "Unlike US president Donald Trump, who thinks science and research is waste of money, Modi does not think that way. That is what I gauged after meeting him today."

German-American Thomas C Sudhof, who was given the Nobel Prize in 2013 in physiology and medicine, said that the Trump-led government in the US is not spending enough to promote science and research, whereas Modi's approach in this regard looks promising.

The Nobel laureates observation make sense with the Budget allocation to development of science and technology and new initiatives by the Ministry. It may be recalled that in the 2018 Budget Modi government proposed to hike the allocation for science ministries and departments between 5 and 17 per cent, with the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Space placed on the opposite extremes of the allocation chain. The Union Budget earmarked Rs 13,971.41 crore for the Department of Atomic Energy, which is mandated to generate nuclear power in India. The allocation is 5.76 per cent more than what was allocated to the DAE in the previous Budget.

The budget for the Ministry of Science and Technology was proposed to be hiked by 6.11 per cent - from Rs 11,612.11 crore in the previous Budget to Rs 12,322.28 crore in the Budget 2018-19.

What are the major initiatives in four years of Modi rule?

Mission Innovation Smart Grids Workshop - Mission Innovation challenge on Smart Grids is collectively working to enable future smart grids powered by renewables. 20 participating countries with India, Italy and China as Co-lead are working together to realise this aspiration. An international workshop was organised during 16-19th November 2017 at New Delhi to define research priorities and develop action plan for time-bound action for the realisation of these objectives.

Interdisciplinary Centre for Cyber Security and Cyber Defence of Critical Infrastructures: An Interdisciplinary Centre for Cyber Security and Cyber Defence of Critical Infrastructures at IIT Kanpur has been funded with a total cost of around Rs.15 crores to create India's first such research centre under a dynamic young professor. The mission of this Centre is to promote research, education, training, and spawn start-ups to create tech

Quantum Information Science & Technology (QIST): This new program initiated by DST aims at developing next generation and futuristic computation, communication and cryptography systems.

Materials on Energy Storage (MES): A new programme on the Materials on Energy Storage (MES) to support R&D activities aimed at innovative materials for energy storage, and to build energy storage device with enhanced output for multifunctional applications was launched during the year. Aiming the efficient use and further increase of renewable energy, and demonstrating its value in terms of flexibility in the energy systems are the prime objective of the initiative. 130 proposals were received and 18 were approved for funding.

Complete Online Processing of INSPIRE: Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) program which has 5 components and enrols nearly 1.5 lakhs students every year. It is a completely ONLINE process right from submission of an application to release of scholarships/ fellowships etc. to every student under the scheme through web-based system. For the last 3-4 years, it is functioning in a complete paperless mode. Students from across the country use this web-based ONLINE system and get the benefits of this scheme.

Greater Access of High-end Equipment/Facilities: A common web portal is being developed which will be populated with the name of high-end equipment and facilities available with the institutions/ universities and their online booking and use in a transparent way. This will facilitate researchers/ students access to these facilities. The portal will be launched with full functionality by the end of 2017.

India S&T Portal: Development of an ambitious India S&T Portal has been initiated with the objective to provide one-stop information centre to school students, scientists and the society at large on various schemes and programmes/activities and major achievements in S&T. This would be a 360-degree view and connect to all the stakeholders and activities of S&T in India. An internet-TV channel on S&T is also in the advanced stages of planning and execution. Currently, systems are being set up for production of contents.

(With PTI inputs)