New Delhi, Nov 20: Dr M Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), launched the 7th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF), from the MoES headquarters in New Delhi.
IISF is an annual event considered to be the biggest platform in the country which brings together students, the public, researchers, innovators, and artists from around the globe to experience the joy of doing science for the wellbeing of people and humanity. IISF 2021 is being organized jointly by the MoES, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with VijnanaBharati (VIBHA).
This year, IISF will be held from December 10 to 13 in Panaji, Goa. The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), an autonomous institute under the MoES, is the nodal agency organising IISF 2021. The theme of IISF 2021 is ‘Celebrating Creativity in Science, Technology and Innovation for Prosperous India’. As part of this theme, all IISF 2021 programs will reflect the spirit and idea of AazadikaAmritMahotsav of the Govt of India, which aims to mark 75 glorious years of Indian independence in 2022, through a series of cultural and scientific events conducted by various ministries across the country.
IISF 2021 is being organised in a hybrid model: it will be available for both virtual and in-person meet. It will have twelve programs including the mega-science, technology, and industry expo. The programmes will be categorised under the following five sections.
- Freedom Struggle: These will commemorate the role of the scientific community in Indian independence. They would help elaborate the role of the Indian scientific community in the freedom struggle, the emergence of scientific institutions and scientific movements, and the role of the Indian scientific community in the freedom struggle.
- Ideas@75: These are aimed to discuss new science and technology (S&T) ideas for new India such as smart hospitals (city, town & village), innovations in health and nutrition, waste management, blue economy, achieving sustainable development goals, initiatives for digital India, and science education.
- Achievements@75: These events are aimed to showcase the S&T achievements of our country in the past 75 years in sectors such as defense, space, nuclear energy, health, engineering and megastructures, agriculture, and various S&T Institutions.
- Actions@75: These events are aimed to chart an S&T action plan for new India. It would include deliberations on the national language transitions mission, Artificial Intelligence, and Internet of Things for digital India, national education policy, health and nutrition, clean energy and clean air, environment and climate change, and skill development mission.
- Resolves@75: These events are aimed to come up with resolutions related to S&T towards achieving AtmaNirbhar Bharat in areas such as energy, science in vernacular languages, defense, food, expanding generation of knowledge, transforming India into a manufacturing hub of the world, and a leading economy.
Specialised events under IISF 2021 include a science literature festival, science film festival, science village festival, engineering students’ festival, eco festival, national institutions meet, and a new age technology show, etc. Details of the IISF 2021 are available at https://www.scienceindiafest.org/. (India Science Wire)
