With the crucial UN climate change conference scheduled to take place later this year, the Science Express - science exhibition mounted on a train - will focus on the theme of climate change this year.
A venture of three ministries - Environment, Science and Technology and Indian Railways, the Science express or exhibition on wheels has been playing a role in creating awareness about India's biodiversity.
"This year's subject is climate change because of climate negotiations which will take part in Paris. The world is debating climate change. We have taken positive actions on climate change. We want to present to the country the whole issue of climate change through this science express," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
Javadekar said this after chairing the first meeting of 'Science Express Climate Change Special (SECCS)' which was attended by Science and Technology minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State Y S Chowdhary.
"The Science Express will focus on the theme of climate change this year. The meeting had been called to decide the overall contours of the theme," he said.
Today's meeting elicited various suggestions, including involving state governments in a big way as well as involving children, volunteers and experts from various institutions of the Ministries involved in the running of the Express.
The train has had a successful run for the last eight years where students from schools and colleges and lakhs of people have come to see exhibition on the train.
Javadekar said that there is an umbrella of 117 organisations on the theme of Climate Change and all of them will be cooperating on the issue.
"All this institutes will be cooperating. Today was the first meeting. Last year the theme was biodiversity, this year it will be climate change. All aspects of climate change will be exhibited," he said.
The representatives of Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad presented an outline of the exhibits to be put up in different proposed coaches of Science Express Climate Change Special. The next meeting of SECCS will be held at Ahmedabad on July 17-18.
