Ms. Smriti Irani, Minister for Human Resource Development invited the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide its inputs for an ambitious programme of the Government of India i.e. the ‘Think-in-India’ movement, which aims at rewarding and funding, innovators and designers within India. The programme is meant to complement the “Make In India” programme launched by the Prime Minister earlier this year.
This was stated by the Minister while inaugurating the first edition of Knowledgexpo in Greater Noida on Thursday. The Knowledgexpo is being organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in partnership with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology on November 20-21 in Greater Noida.
“For the first time, several institutes of the Central Government – IITs and NITs have come together to showcase India’s research might as a single entity.” We need more convergence of this kind.
Ms Irani said that the budget allocation for higher education in 2014-15 has been increased by 15 per cent over the previous year’s budget estimate and highlighted that the Government of India is working on several issues such as land for educational institutes, free online education at premier institutes for all citizens of India, credit transfer system after class 9th and more.
She also requested CII to give its inputs to Skill India faster and support in the success of GIAN project which aims at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs to engage with the institutes of higher education in India to augment the country`s existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reforms and further strengthen India`s scientific and technological capabilities.
The Minister also suggested that future editions of Knowledgexpo should include school education as well. She felt that unless a strong base was created, the desired outcome in terms of higher education could not be achieved.
The Minister also agreed with the suggestion made by Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII to set-up a task force which will comprise industry and academia to interact with the Government of India to address knowledge gaps.
Mr. Banerjee also spoke about CII’s vision for the knowledge economy “To accelerate India’s journey to knowledge-driven economy by effectively realizing economic benefits in terms of value-added manufacturing, high technology exports and ownership of critical technologies from the investments made in knowledge ecosystem through public-private partnerships and stronger industry-institute collaborations”
Sharing his perspective, Mr Shatrughna Singh, Additional Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion stated that over a period of time with economic development, liberalization and globalization, Intellectual Property was gaining prominence. This is evident from a five-fold increase in the filing of patents from 8,503 in 2000-01 to 42,950 in 2013-14.
He stated that the ‘Make in India’ programme includes new initiatives designed to facilitate investment, foster innovation, protect intellectual property, and build manufacturing infrastructure, he added.
In his address, Dr. Naushad Forbes said that a knowledge economy brings together the concepts of knowledge and economic growth. Therefore, along with our focus on increasing investments, we need to accord high priority to knowledge-creation and knowledge-application. Knowledge must be translated into usable, affordable, and accessible formats to increase skills and employability. What will connect these dots is entrepreneurship.
Prof. Pradyumna Vyas, Director, National Institute of Design said that their focus is to bring design education in engineering colleges in India.
In his remarks, Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, Immediate Past President, CII said that Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Design, Information Technology and Education are very important ingredients of a knowledge economy. He pointed out that SMEs are an engine for job creation, but after 5 years they stop creating jobs. There is a need for an eco-system so that new businesses could be formed, he added.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Udayant Malhoutra, Chairman, CII National Committee on Design thanked the Ministers and all the participants and complimented CII for bring together all stakeholder together to develop India’s knowledge economy.
About Knowledgexpo
Knowledgexpo is a mega convergence of three key government ministries -- the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology, being organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on November 20-21, 2014. Along with the Union government, there are five state governments participating in the expo - Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala, as well as several autonomous organisations of the Government of India such as the Indian Council of Medical Research, the All India Council of Technical Education, National Science and Technology Entrepreneurial Development Board, Intellectual Property India and India Design Council.
There are five parallel summits which are taking place at Knowledgexpo. These include the 4th AICTE-CII Global University-Industry Congress, the 14th CII-NID Design Summit, the 2nd Global Innovation and Technology Alliance Platform, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit and the Intellectual Property Summit.
Alongside the parallel summits, an exhibition spread over 14000 sq m of space is taking place where along with industry and government premier academic institutions of India are present such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and the newly christened institute of national importance, the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology. The 14 IITs will include IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee and IIT Ropar.
There are high-level industry delegations from nine countries which showcasing their innovations in science and technology. Indian academic institutes and industry are displaying over 100 products designed in India. The Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises is showcasing its 18 tool rooms.
The expected outcomes of Knowledgexpo are more partnerships between industry and institutes, more research projects coming to India from overseas, boost to manufacturing, transfer of technology, more exchange programmes between academic institutions, improvement in pedagogic tools, better branding of Indian higher education and research prowess.
Greater Noida
November 20, 2014