Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the programme marking National Technology Day 2023, at Pragati Maidan here today. The programme also marked the commencement of the celebration of the 25th year of National Technology Day being held from the 11th to the 14th of May.
On this momentous occasion, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple projects related to scientific and technological advancement in the country worth more than Rs 5,800 crores. This is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat through strengthening scientific institutions in the country.
The projects whose foundation stone was laid include Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory – India (LIGO-India), Hingoli; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jatni, Odisha; and Platinum Jubilee Block of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
The projects that were dedicated to Nation include Fission Molybdenum-99 Production Facility, Mumbai; Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Plant, Visakhapatnam; National Hadron Beam Therapy Facility, Navi Mumbai; Radiological Research Unit, Navi Mumbai; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Visakhapatnam; and Women & Children Cancer Hospital Building, Navi Mumbai;
During the programme, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Expo showcasing scientific & technological advancements made in India in the recent past and also took a walk-through. He also released a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi said that the 11th of May is one of the most prestigious days in the history of India. He underlined that today marks the day when India’s scientists achieved the stupendous feat in Pokhran which made the entire nation proud. “I can never forget the day when Atal Ji made the announcement of India’s successful Nuclear Testing”, the Prime Minister remarked.
He stated that the Pokhran Nuclear Testing not only helped India prove its scientific capabilities but also gave a boost to the global stature of the nation. “In Atal Ji’s words”, the Prime Minister said, “We have never stopped on our journey and never surrendered to any challenge that has come our way.” The Prime Minister conveyed his greetings to every citizen on the occasion of National Technology Day.
The Prime Minister reiterated that today, at the initial period of Amrit Kaal, the goals of 2047 are clear before us. “We have to make the nation Viksit and Aatmnirbhar”, said the Prime Minister emphasizing the need for creating an inclusive ecosystem for growth, innovation and Sustainable Development Goals. He underlined the importance of technology at every step and said, India is moving forward with a holistic and 360-degree approach in this regard. “India considers technology as a tool of the nation’s progress, not a means to assert its dominance”, the Prime Minister said.
Praising the theme of today’s event ‘School to Startups- igniting young minds to innovate’, the Prime Minister said that India’s future will be decided by the youth and children of today. He said that the passion, energy, and capabilities of the children and youth today are India’s big strengths. Quoting Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of knowledge along with knowledge and said as India is developing as a Knowledge society, it is taking action with equal force. He elaborated on the strong foundation that has been created in the country during the last 9 years to ignite young minds.
The Prime Minister said that more than 10 thousand ATAL tinkering labs in 700 districts have become innovation nurseries. More importantly, 60 percent of these labs are in Government and rural schools. He informed that 75 lakh plus students are working laboriously on more than 12 lakh innovation projects in Atal Tinkering Lab. This, the Prime Minister said, is a sign of young scientists coming right out of schools and reaching the far corners of the country and emphasizing that it is everyone’s duty to handhold them, nurture their talent and also assist them in implementing their ideas. He noted the hundreds of startups that have been incubated at Atal Innovation Centers (AIC) and said that it is emerging as the new laboratories of the ‘New India’. “The Tinker-preneurs of India will soon become leading entrepreneurs of the world”, the Prime Minister said.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Sciences, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology, MoS PMO and Minister of State Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances, in his welcome address, said that National Technology Day is a celebration of India’s growth story under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that In the past 9 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has taken a giant leap in the field of science, technology and innovation.
The Minister said that before 2014, there were just around 350 StartUps, but after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the clarion call from the ramparts of the Red Fort in his Independence Day address and rolled out special StartUp scheme in 2016, there has been a quantum jump in StartUps to more than 90,000 with more than 100 Unicorns. India also has the world’s third largest StartUp ecosystem and has leapfrogged from 81st to 40th in the Global Innovation Index 2022.
Biotech Startups have grown 100 times in the last 8 years from 52 odd startups in 2014 to 5300 plus in 2022, the Minister said.
Talking about Agri tech StartUps, Dr Jitendra Singh said that before 2014, no one knew about Aroma mission or Purple revolution. But today, lavender cultivation has led to the boom of Agri tech StartUps. Similarly before 2014, there was no concept of Preventive Healthcare in India, but today that same India is being recognised as the Vaccine Hub of the World.
The Minister said that before 2014, ISRO used to send rockets to space. but after the Prime Minister opened the doors of the space sector to private sector participation, today ISRO is working with almost 130 private StartUps. Moreover the Gaganyaan mission is getting ready to send the first Indian to space, he added.Before 2014, the mandate of the Ministry of Earth Sciences was not clearly defined but now there is Deep Ocean Mission.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that in 2023, under the Prime Minister’s leadership, India has taken up some breaking initiatives like LIGO which the PM will be launching today, India Space Policy 2023 and National Quantum Mission making India part of the elite club of nations who possess Quantum technology.
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