Posted On: 12 MAY
2020 6:59PM by PIB Delhi
A
day-long digital conference on Rebooting the Economy through Science, Technology, and
Research Translations’ (RESTART), organised on the
occasion of National Technology Day, highlighted the importance of transformation of manufacturing companies post-COVID
19 pandemic, collaborations and that Research
should be brought closer to the Industry in overcoming the present
challenge.
Experts
at the session on ‘Medicines & Medical Technologies for
better preparedness to face Pandemics’ were
of the opinion that the pandemic is a great opportunity for R&D and needs to
be used for strengthening it. The COVID crisis has unfolded some of the best medical
advancements and innovations in history like drug discovery, vaccines, and diagnostic
tools, and other medical devices, as well as ways to preserve electronic health
records. Experts pointed out how these medical innovations can be harnessed for
better preparedness to face future pandemics.
Lead
Healthcare experts from the UK Madhukar Bose explained
that this pandemic has forced people to
adopt new ways of primary care in the
United Kingdom and said that now 90 percent interaction in the UK happen through
digital channels. Dr. Suresh Jadhav, Executive Director,
Serum Institute of India, said that it might take months or years to come back to
pre-COVID-19 days and technologies needed to be reworked in order to live in the
present situation. He added that technologies such as appropriate
face masks and best practices like social distancing need to be made a part of life.
The
session on ‘Advanced Materials’
outlined that to tackle pandemics like COVID 19,
research needs to quickly switch over from being capital intensive to knowledge-intensive
and should be brought closer to industry. Dr. Shekhar C Mande,
Director General CSIR, pointed out that the strategy for CSIR is to shift
from capital intensity to knowledge intensity of research,
and we wish to become knowledge partners of
many industries.
Speakers
at the session agreed that the novel materials such as smart materials, special
purpose alloys, engineering polymers & blends, graphene, composites, etc. will
be the key to revamping the industry’s product lines in the future. They described
materials as the cornerstones for new-age technology solutions for complex functional
problems. Research workers across the world are engaged in developing novel materials
designed with specific properties and engineered to deliver focused functional requirements.
Investment in such knowledge-based value-added materials will go a long way in accelerating
the economic activities and ensuring an attractive return for the industry, they
said.
The
session on Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for Sustainable
Future’ discussed how manufacturing
companies were undergoing digital transformation due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Alok Nanda, CEO GE India Technology Centre, said, “COVID
has forced the Industries who were sitting on the fence to go for digital transformation,
which has brought a tremendous change”. Rajiv Bajaj Managing Director Stratasys India pointed out that the world is moving towards
mass customization and mass specialization today, and technology like 3-D printing
plays a major role in it.Dr. BB Ahuja Director, College
of Engineering Pune, stressed that additive manufacturing can change the fundamentals
of manufacturing, and hence needed to be adapted rapidly.
Prof.
Sarit Kumar Das, Director IIT Ropar, discussed the changes
that COVID-19 time brings about in teaching and learning. “Collaboration and cooperation
between industry and academia is most important in this period”, to make them a
talent pool. Raghav Narsalay
Managing Director, Accenture Research, highlighted that“COVID-19 and other challenges
like climate change have shown that if we can move technology to the core, it can
help us to understand these phenomena faster & better”. The panel agreed that
in addressing short term and long-term challenges, advanced technologies would provide
avenues to the industry to re-stimulate innovation, sustainability and employment.
The
session on ‘Global Innovation & Technology Alliance
for Global Economic Leadership’ emphasized
the importance of global collaborations in dealing
with the challenge of COVID 19. Addressing the session, Dr. Renu
Swarup Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, said, "In
today's scenario, virtual collaboration is the key to connect globally to fight
against the common challenge of COVID-19, and collaboration between countries
must continue with much vigour".
Mr.
Vincenzo de Luca, Ambassador of Italy to India, spoke about how the regular organisation of joint workshops on topics likes Info. &
Comm. Technology, Sustainable Energy & protection of the environment has helped
build S&T cooperation with India. Mr. Hongryel Felix
Choi Director, International R&D Cooperation Team Korea Institute for Advancement
of Technology, reflected that they are working closely with Global Innovation &
Technology Alliance (GITA) in India in S&T field. Luc Tran, Industrial Technology
Advisor from National Research Council (NRC) Canada, mentioned, “Canada has taken
up a Pandemic response challenge program, an initiative for breakthrough technologies,
leveraging of Global Presence, Innovation Assistance program and program like ‘Life
Without a Vaccine’ as some of the initiatives making Canada COVID ready.”
Dr.
Amiram Appelbaum Chairman, Israel
Innovation Authority, highlighted how his government is harnessing its innovation
ecosystem with health crisis. “We are assisting the high-tech ecosystem to survive
the financial crisis and addressing the immediate needs of startups and MSME of
Israel to ensure economy stays on track.”
“India is willing to collaborate & we are looking forward
to international collaboration to fight the pandemic and win it over,” said Dr.
SK Varshney Head- International Cooperation, DST.
The
inaugural session of the conference was graced by the dignitaries including the
Union Minister of Science and Technology, Health and Family Welfare and Earth Sciences,
Dr. Harsh Vardhan; Member, NITI Aayog
Dr. V K Saraswat; Principal Scientific Adviser Government
of India, Prof. K VijayRaghavan; Secretary, Department
of Science & Technology Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Dr.
Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director-General,
World Health Organization, and officials from DST and Technology Development Board
(TDB).
The
day-long digital conference brought together at one platform scientists, government
officials, diplomats, academia, and representatives of industry. It was organized
by Technology Development Board (TDB), an autonomous organization of the Department
of Science and Technology (DST) along with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).