Want to invite global community to innovate in India: PM Narendra Modi

PM Modi invited the global community to innovate in India, invest in the country and its talent and said the government is ready to accept any challenge and improve research environment

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited the global community to innovate in India, invest in the country and its talent and said the government is ready to accept any challenge and improve research environment in the country.
 
In his inaugural address at the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020, the PM said the biggest long term challenge science faces is to attract high quality youngsters and retain them. He said the government's efforts are aimed at making India the most trustw­orthy centre for scientific learning.
 
One of the steps taken to achieve this is hosting and participating in hackathons to provide exposure and opportu­nity to Indian scientists, he said. Modi also gave a call to the global community to invest in Indian talent and innovate in India.
 
“I want to invite the global community to invest in India, Indian talent and innovate in India. India has the brightest minds. India celebrates a culture of openness and transparency.
 
“The government of India stands ready to address any challenge and improve the resea­rch environment here,” he said.
 
Modi pointed out that there are many challenges in the country like water scarcity, pollution, soil quality, food security, for which modern science has solutions. Science also has a big role in rapidly explo­­ring the water, energy and food resources in the sea, the PM noted.
 
He said India is running Deep Ocean Mission for this and has achieved success, adding the benefit of new inventions in science finds a way in commerce and business as well.
 
Modi said reforms have now been undertaken in the space sector to encourage youth and the private sector to not only touch the sky, but also the heights of the deep space. He said the new production linked incentive scheme also focuses on sectors related to science and technology.
 
Such steps will give a boost to the scientific community, the ecosystem related to science and technology will get better and generate more resources for innovation and create a new culture of partnership between science and industry, he said.
 
The prime minister said science and technology are bridging the gap of scarcity and impact. He emphasised the importance of making the benefits of science and technology available to all.
 
He said science and technology are bridging the gap of scarcity and impact. “It is connecting the poorest of the poor with the government. With digital advances, India is becoming a centre of evolution and revolution of global high-tech power.”
 
“To achieve this world class education, health, connectivity and rural solutions, today's India has data, demography and demand. Above all, India has democracy to balance and protect all this. That is why the world trusts India,” he stressed.
 
Modi said India has a rich legacy in science, technology and innovation and its scientists have done path breaking research.
 
India's tech industry, he said, is at the forefront of solving global problems. “But, India wants to do more. We look at the past with pride but want an even better future,” Modi said.
 
He asserted that the new National Education Policy would help in fostering scientific temper from an early age.
 
He said now focus has shifted from outlays to outcome, from textbooks to research and application. The new NEP will encourage creation of a pool of top quality teachers. This approach will help the budding scientists. This is being supplemented by Atal Innovation Mission and Atal Tinkering labs, he said.
 
Modi calls AMU ‘mini-India’
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said ideological and political differences should be set aside for the sake of development and assured that nobody will be left behind in the path to progress because of their religion.
 
“Politics can wait, society can wait. But the country's development cannot wait,” he said at the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University, which he called “mini-India” and lauded for its diversity.
 
Modi said the country is now moving on a path where people would get the benefits of development without any bias, and where they are assured of their constitutional rights.
 
“The country today is moving on a path where nobody should be left behind because of their religion,” he said.
 
He said the government's welfare scheme have benefitted everyone without discrimination, following the “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas” motto.
 
Listing some of them, he said, “What belongs to the country belongs to every citizen. Everybody should get it.” In the address delivered through video conference, he said development should not be seen through the prism of politics. We have to understand that politics is an important aspect of society. But in society there are also issues other than politics,” Modi said.
 
He released a postage stamp commemorating 100 years of AMU. He said there is space beyond siyasat (politics) and satta (power), which should be explored by campuses like AMU. “It is natural to have differences in society. But when the issue is securing national goals, these differences should be set aside.” Modi listed economic develo­pment, education, standard of living and nationalism among the common goals.