Start-Up Movement to Spur Research Translate into Products

Kolkata, Feb 8 (IANS) Stressing the need for out-of-the-box thinking, Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan on Monday said the Centre's start-up movement will help in research getting translated into viable products.

Inaugurating the CSIR - IICB Translational Research Unit of Excellence (TRUE) here, Harsh Vardhan also said that India was making rapid strides in the field of science and technology including entering into the 'high-risk high-gain' research work.

"There is a gap of researches in labs translating into solutions for the common man as also provide technology at affordable prices, the start-up movement that the government has undertaken will play a big role in bridging that gap," said the minister.

The minister stressed on the importance of institutes like the TRUE -- a productive platform for the successful industry -- institute liaison for technology facilitation and transfer.

"Be it scientists or institutes, today the most important factor is innovation coefficient and our government is keen on developing this coefficient. With the impetus of the start-up movement and centres like the TRUE, we are confident of turning lab researches into solutions for the common man," he said.

Asserting India was inferior to none in the fields of science and technology, Harsh Vardhan called for the development of scientific temper and out-of-the-box thinking.

Referring to the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), an initiative aimed at improving India's capability and capacity in supercomputers and India joining hands with five nations for "Thirty Meter Telescope" project Ain Hawaii, Harsh Vardhan said the country has now entered into the 'high-risk high-gain' research work.

"Because of initiatives by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are now into research works that were considered to be too risky. We are inferior to none in technology or science, the idea is to think out of the box, and that is where this start-up movement will play a big role," he said.

The minister also said the success of the Make in India campaign, as well as other initiatives of the centre, have initiated a trend of brain drain reversal with over 160 scientists returning to India in the past one year.

Lamenting that people in the country continue to be prone to diseases like cholera and anaemia, Harsh Vardhan called upon the scientist community to develop technology for producing cheaper drugs and also urged the youngsters to take science as a profession.