Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday advised the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to reinvent itself and turn futuristic while pursuing the science of the highest order.
Participating in the CSIR’s 80th Foundation Day celebrations here, he said that he wanted CSIR laboratories and institutes to address challenges that require long-term scientific and technological solutions.
Citing climate change, drug resistance, pollution, epidemic and pandemic outbreaks, among the challenges that need the focus of the scientific community, Naidu said: “I want CSIR to bestow greater attention on agricultural research and come out with new innovations, techniques and solutions to address the problems faced by farmers.”
Union Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh asked the CSIR and all the science departments to explore S&T innovations needed in the next ten years to make India globally competitive, a Science and Technology Ministry release said.
As the nation is celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahostav, the combined strength of the CSIR, Department of Bio-Technology, Department of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Earth Sciences, along with other science ministries, can indeed transform the entire country in the next 25 years as the entire progress is going to remain heavily technology-dependant, he said, adding, 25 years later, India should be a global leader ranging from defence to economics with strong scientific and technological inputs.”
Lauding the 80-year successful journey of CSIR, he said that it is heartening to see the evolution of the CSIR from developing India’s first indelible ink used in elections to providing Indian Standard Time using atomic clocks today.
From the development of Swaraj Tractor to the recent test flying of HANSA-NG is a testament to the growth of CSIR in the last eight decades, he added.