Agencies, Kolkata
Declaring that India aspires to be in the league of top five global scientific powers by 2020, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the country would harness the advancement of science and technology to make it people-oriented, transform the agriculture sector on priority basis and ‘bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots’ for a sustained inclusive growth.
” The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013 released here today aspires to position India among the top five global scientific powers by the year 2020. It is an ambitious goal,” he said while unveiling it on the opening day of the 100th Indian Science Congress at the Salt Lake Stadium here.
” As India seeks a sustained growth of its national income, we must endeavour to harness the tools of science to cater to the needs of the underprivileged and to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots,” Dr Singh, who himself is the President of ISC, said.
President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the congress, being attended by about 15,000 delegaltes, including several nobel laureate scientiests from across the world. After releasing the STI policy, the Prime Minister presented the first copy to President Pranab Mukherjee.
Clarifying his point, the Prime Minister said since nearly 65 per cent of the country’s population lived in rural areas, the increase in their living standards was dependant largely on the growth of agricultural production and productivity.
