Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the government of India, convened the 24th PM-STIAC meeting on February 6 in New Delhi.
The meeting brought together PM-STIAC members, key government officials, and experts from the medical and health industry to discuss priority areas of the health products ecosystem, particularly the current regulatory processes of medical products, challenges faced by stakeholders, and emerging opportunities in the regulatory space.
The aim was to provide recommendations for a robust regulatory ecosystem.
Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser
• The government established the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) in November 1999.
• The PSA’s office aims to provide pragmatic and objective advice to the PM and Cabinet on matters related to science, technology and innovation with a focus on application of science and technology in critical infrastructure, economic and social sectors in partnership with government departments, institutions and industry.
• The Office of PSA was placed under the Cabinet Secretariat in August 2018.
Functions of office of the PSA:
i) Science and technology fundamentals with applied research in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, both in central and state governments.
ii) Enabling future preparedness in emerging domains of science and technology.
iii) Formulating and coordinating major inter-ministerial science and technology missions.
iv) Providing an enabling ecosystem for technology led innovations and techno-entrepreneurship.
v) Driving innovation and technology delivery towards solving socio-economic challenges for sustainable growth.
vi) Fostering effective public-private linkages for driving research and innovation.
PM-STIAC
• The Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) is an overarching council that expedite the PSA’s Office to appraise the status in specific science and technology domains, comprehend challenges, formulate interventions, develop a futuristic roadmap and advise the Prime Minister accordingly.
• It was established in August 2018.
• The PM-STIAC aims to facilitate, through its missions, the process of collaboration and focus needed to solve complex problems in a reasonable time-frame.
• The council oversees the implementation of these interventions by concerned S&T departments, agencies, and other government ministries.
• PM-STIAC also mandates formulation, convergence, collaboration, coordination, and implementation of multi-stakeholder policy initiatives, mechanisms, reforms, and programmes.
These initiatives are aimed at:
i) Synergising collaborative science and technology.
ii) Enabling future preparedness.
iii) Formulating and coordinating S&T missions.
iv) Providing an enabling ecosystem for techno entrepreneurship.
v) Driving innovation, and technology, developing innovation clusters.
vi) Fostering effective public-private linkages among other responsibilities.
Objectives of PM-STIAC:
• Synergising science and technology collaborative research with various stakeholders both in central and state governments.
• Facilitating future preparedness in science and technology emerging domains.
• Formulating and coordinating major inter-ministerial science and technology missions.
• Ensuring an enabling ecosystem for technology-led innovations and entrepreneurship.
• Solving socio-economic challenges for sustainable growth by innovations and technology-based solutions.
• Fostering effective public-private linkages for driving research and innovation.
• Developing innovation clusters with multiple stakeholders including academia, industry and government.
• Skilling in current and futuristic technologies.
Several missions, aligned with the national interest, have been approved by the PM-STIAC.
Missions approved for implementation are:
i) One Health Mission
ii) National Quantum Mission
iii) Artificial Intelligence
iv) Electric Vehicles
v) Waste to Wealth
vi) Deep Ocean Exploration
vii) Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations (AGNIi)
Other missions approved under PM-STIAC are:
i) Natural Language Translation
ii) National Biodiversity
iii) Bio-Science for Human Health
iv) Science & Technology (S&T) For Sustainable Livelihood System.
