The Union Minister for Human Resources and Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar today said that in a major boost for research and innovation in the country, the Central Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1000 crore for the phase two of the Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India programme.
In a statement in the Visitor’s Conference held in New Delhi today, the Minister said under the IMPRINT-II, a fund is being created by the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Human Resource Development together, in which participation will come from industry and other interested Ministries. The project will be run as a separate vertical in coordination with the DST. Prof. Indranil Manna of IIT-Kharagpur will be the National Coordinator. The proposals for IMPRINT-II will be called from 16th March and will be sanctioned by May this year.
Under the IMPRINT-I Programme, 142 projects at a cost of Rs. 318.71 crore are already under implementation. These projects cover crucial domains like security and defence, information technology, energy, sustainable habitat, advance materials, health care, nano technology, climate change, etc. All these projects are expected to result in publications and also patents.
Smart Campus Campaign
Based on the recommendations of the National Expert Advisory Committee (NEAC) constituted by the Department of Science & Technology, Government has decided to set-up five new Research Parks at IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, and IISc Bangalore at a total cost of Rs.75.00 crore each. Government has also approved continued funding of two Research Parks at IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur at a cost of Rs.100 crore each. The Research Park at IIT Gandhinagar at a total cost of Rs.90 crore is funded by the Department of Science & Technology. IIT Madras Research Park is fully functional with 43 R&D clients, 4 Incubators, 55 Startups, and 5 Centres of Excellence. Government provides necessary budgetary support to the IITs for campus development by using environment friendly methods. Government intends to undertake review periodically of functioning of research parks.
The Government has announced the decision to launch a Smart Campus Campaign under which educational institutions will be encouraged to optimize use of water, electricity and also adopt measures for generating power through solar installations. The institutions which perform on the parameters of saving, conserving and recycling would be identified and honoured. This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Satya Pal Singh
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