Inaugurates Children Science Festival at IIIM
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Nov 6: Maintaining that only Government job is not real employment, Union Minister of State in PMO with independent charge of Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh today stressed the need of changing this mindset.
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Talking to reporters on the sideline of Children’s Scientific Festival held at IIIM here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said both students and their parents need to change the Government job mindset and instead take advantage of various self employment avenues created by Narendra Modi Government for them as private sector jobs are more lucrative than Government jobs.
He said the Modi Government brought a revolution in establishing start-ups in the country and from 350 startups in 2014 when this Government took over, their number in the country has reached 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh at present.
Dr Jitendra Singh said to create more employment opportunities for the talented youth of the country, Modi Government also opened the space to private sector and many entrepreneurs are now linked to space.
He made it clear that the Government job is not only the employment and the need of the hour is that people should come out of this mindset.
The Union Minister said that India does not lack the talent and our children are both capable and intelligent. The nation has proved that we don’t lag behind anyone in the world but the only thing is that we have to be mentor of our children and guide them accordingly so that they can choose a profession which can guarantee them prosperous future.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while giving all kudos to Indian scientists said our Chandriyan got proof of water on Moon and India proved itself at world level.
He said today’s Jigyasa programme is to identify and groom scientific talent of children and find out their aptitude at an early age before they get distracted by their parents. In this regard countrywide programmes are being held, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that there was a lot of enthusiasm among the children after Chandrayaan landed on Moon and after the successful launch of Aroma Mission and Lavender cultivation so this Jigyasa programme has been launched.
The Union Minister said that if the children can be groomed properly they can be at par with their counterparts across the world instead of sending them to coaching centres without any outcome.
Earlier, the Union Minister while speaking after inaugurating the “Children Science Festival” organized by CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM) emphasised the harnessing of young aptitudes.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also took a round of the stalls in the exhibition put up on the occasion and witnessed different kinds of science models prepared by the students. The students drawn from the schools of Jammu region have also scripted slogans under the themes like Health & Wellness, Water conservation, Waste management and Save mother Earth.
While addressing the students, Dr. Jitendra Singh narrated how the Jigyasa programme is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a New India and Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) of Scientific community and institutions. Jigyasa is a student – scientist connect programme implemented by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).
Dr. Jitendra Singh applauded the efforts of CSIR-IIIM for organizing such outreach activities for students from schools and colleges. He said that such activities help to increase the scientific aptitude and inculcates the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in young minds. He also distributed prizes to the winners of various competitions organized during the Children Science Festival.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said India’s first Virtual Science Lab for Children under CSIR Jigyasa Programme was launched, which built a strong connect between students and Scientists with scientists across the country. He also said, the main objective of establishing the Virtual Lab was to provide quality research exposure and innovative pedagogy for school students based on an online interactive medium. He said, the new facility will immensely benefit students from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and Government Schools of various State Boards and will help in catching them young.
Today, in the Children Science Festival, more than 350 students from about 55 schools under the Government of J&K, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Army Public Schools, Bhartiya Vidya Mandir Schools, etc, from various districts of Jammu region showcased their talent in various competitions such as Science models (Themes : Health & wellness; Water conservation; Waste management; Save mother Earth), Science/current affairs Quiz Competition, Poster competition on ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ and Slogan writing competition on ‘Space Mission of India’.
Students of Seva Bharti, an NGO that provides free education and vocational training to children from economically weaker sections of society. These students displayed various products developed under the ‘Waste to Wealth’ theme.
Earlier, Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, in his welcome address gave the details of this event and said that the main objective of the Children Science Festival is to ignite the scientific spirit in young minds. He informed the audience that CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, has been regularly organizing various youth conclaves and startup expo, as outreach activities and to support and nurture the startup ecosystem of the UT of J&K. Dr. Zabeer also informed that CSIR-IIIM has three incubation centers viz. Technology Business Incubator (TBI), BioNEST Incubator and Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) for hand-holding and promoting the startups.
Prominent among the dignitaries present in the function were Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, Principal Government Medical College, Jammu, Prof. Sanjeev Jain, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Jammu, Ashok Kumar Sharma, Director School Education, Jammu and Nagendra Goyal, Deputy Commissioner, KV Sangathan, Jammu. The main programme in the auditorium was conducted by Rajni Kumari while as Er. Abdul Rahim, Chief Scientist & Head Srinagar Branch presented formal vote of thanks.
The event organized under the chief patronage of Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, Director CSIR-IIIM, Jammu was coordinated by Dr. Asha Chaubey, Senior Principal Scientist and Nodal Officer Jigyasa Programme, CSIR-IIIM. Among others, Organizing Committee members were: Dr. Shashank Singh, Dr. Dhiraj Vyas, Dr. Tasduq Abdullah, Dr. Sumit G Gandhi (Sr. Principal Scientists), Dr. Deepika Singh and Saurabh Saran (Principal Scientists), Vikram Singh (Sr. CoA), Rajesh Gupta, Administrative Officer and Dileep Gehlot, Store & Purchase Officer.
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