At a time when the 5G spectrum auctions appear to have been delayed till next year, industry body COAI has said that the government should facilitate creation of indigenous IPR around the high-speed mobile technology by developing local use cases through engagement with start-ups and businesses.

DG, COAI, said that the government should use the intervening period to carry out the groundwork related to the technology, especially with regards to developing India-specific solutions around the network and usage.

As seen in many countries across the globe, smart cities in India too have been playing a major role and leading the way in the country’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Despite delays in the country’s smart city projects due to paucity of funds, smart have been able to effectively tap technologies like IoT/sensors, tele-healthcare, data and analytics, and contribute significantly to India’s fight against COVID-19.

The government has started inter-departmental and industry consultations to revamp the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 to stay on top of the various technological advances in the social media, e-commerce, cybercrime and digital payments space. MEITY has reached out to stakeholder ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs and Department of Telecom for their inputs. Following MeitY’s ask, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has also written to industry bodies for feedback.

In order to further promote ‘Make in India’ and support international companies for setting up manufacturing in India, BHEL has floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting global companies to partner with it and leverage its facilities and capabilities for setting up a manufacturing base in the country.  

BHEL, a Maharatna CPSE under the Department of Heavy Industries, has 16 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities spread across the country with substantial land bank as well as extensive built up industrial/ commercial and residential spaces. It has ongoing technology partnerships with some of the major global manufacturing and engineering companies as well as relationships with leading national laboratories & institutions.

The government has initiated a consultation process for formulation of a new national Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020). The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (Office of PSA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have jointly initiated a decentralised, bottom-up and inclusive process for the formulation of the new policy.

The fifth S&T policy of the country is being formulated at a crucial juncture when India and the world are tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.  "As the crisis changes the world, the new policy with its decentralised manner of formation will reorient STI in terms of priorities, sectoral focus, the way research is done, and technologies are developed and deployed for larger socio-economic welfare.

The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has constituted a joint Science Communication Forum with a view to facilitate interaction, cooperation, and coordination amongst various public sector science communication institutions and agencies. The Forum brings together science communication efforts spread across various institutions and can help adoption of a common policy and best practices at a wider scale, ultimately aiming towards a national science communication framework. It is represented by senior officials from various central ministries and departments, including Agriculture, Health, Culture, Defense, Space, Atomic Energy, and Information & Broadcasting, in addition to Science & Technology.

India’s Department of Science & Technology and the European Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency have issued a joint call for proposals that aims at smartly integrating large amounts of renewable energy in local energy systems in Europe and/or India and in this way make energy supply cleaner, more efficient and affordable. The proposals should develop and demonstrate novel solutions, integrating all energy vectors (electricity, heating, cooling, water and wastes), including possibilities offered by batteries and electric vehicles; interconnect them; and optimize joint operation with increased share of renewables and a higher energy efficiency.