A high-level US delegation of the premier National Science Foundation (NSF) called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh discussed and proposed deeper cooperation with India in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber security , quantum computing, semiconductor, clean energy, advanced wireless technologies, biotechnology, geosciences, astrophysics and defence.
Head of the US delegation, Dr Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director, National Science Foundation of United States assured the minister to carry this collaboration to the next level. He noted that this is his third meeting with the Union Minister for Science and Technology in the last six months and pointed out to the seriousness of the approach.
Singh highlighted the opportunities for deeper and significant cooperation between the two countries for establishing global leadership for meeting global challenges. He impressed upon the delegation the importance of technology transfer in critical areas for developing a strong bond between Indian and the US.
During the delegation-level talks, Singh said, both the sides have already identified the sectors and collaboration is on in areas like healthcare, technology, space, Earth and ocean science and emerging technologies.
Panchanathan assured Dr Jitendra Singh that the subjects identified earlier as well as brought to the fore in the latest round of the meeting would be taken to logical conclusion. He also highlighted new avenues of cooperation in areas like critical minerals, smart agriculture, bio-economy and 6G technologies. He conveyed to the Minister that more joint calls would be taken from March, 2023 on identified projects.
Singh told the delegation that the Indian scientific diaspora is one of the world’s largest and powerful communities in shaping global discourse, particularly in the technological innovation landscape. He said, both the countries must explore avenues for the US and India to jointly identify, nurture, and promote deep-tech start-ups in areas of mutual interest.