In his customary address at the Congress on Friday, Narendra Modi said that India has moved to the number 3 position in peer-reviewed science and engineering publications and is also moving upwards at a rate of about 10 percent, compared to the global growth of 4 percent.
“I'm also happy to learn that India's ranking has improved in the innovation index to 52. Our programmes have created more technology business incubators in 5 years than the last 50 years,” he added.
Modi also acknowledged that India’s growth depends on its success in the science and technology sector. “The growth story of India depends on its success in the science and tech sector. There is a need to transform the landscape of Indian science and technology", said Modi.
Emphasising that contributions through innovation can lead India to realise its dream of a 5 trillion economy, Modi said Indian startups have immense potential in the bio-fuel and ethanol production sectors.
“We must try to change all forms of waste, including plastic and electronic waste, into wealth as soon as possible. We are also trying to ensure that by 2022, we reduce the import of crude oil by 10 percent", he added.
Modi asked the scientific community to replicate India’s success story in space in the new frontier of the deep sea.
“We need to explore, map and responsibly harness the vast oceanic resources of water, energy, food, and minerals. We know from science that the potential energy, the silent form of energy, can move mountains by its conversion to the kinetic energy of motion. Can we build a Science in Motion?” he asked the gathering.
The annual 5-day session of the Congress will be attended by policymakers, scientists, academicians, and inventors from across the world including two Nobel laureates Stefan Hell, a physicist from the Max Planck Institute, Germany and Ada Yonath, a crystallographer from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.