Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC)

Missions of the PMSTIAC

Natural Language Translation

Objective

To make the opportunities and progress in science and technology accessible to all in the regional languages, this mission aims to remove the barrier that the requirement of a high-level of proficiency in English today poses. Using a combination of machine and human translation, the mission will enable access to teaching and researching material bilingually - English and one's native Indian language.

Under this mission, the setting up of an ecosystem, which involves Central and State-Government agencies and start-ups has been planned. These stakeholders will work with scientists and researchers to build implementable solutions.

Lead Partners

Quantum Frontier

Objective

The mission aims to initiate work in the understand and control of the quantum mechanical systems with many degrees of freedom, to solve one of the great contemporary challenges in fundamental science and technology. Building excellence in the quantum frontier through this mission is essential for national security and development of quantum computers, quantum chemistry, quantum communication, new materials, quantum sensors, and quantum cryptography.

Lead Partners

Artificial Intelligence

Objective

Incredible advances have been made in data collection, processing and computation power. Intelligent systems can now be deployed in a variety of tasks and decision making to enable better connectivity and enhance productivity. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) mission will focus on efforts that will address India's societal needs in areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities and infrastructure, as well as smart mobility and transportation.

The mission will engage closely with academia and industry to develop core research capability at the national level, which will include international collaborations. It will help advance technology frontiers through the creation of new knowledge, and the development and deployment of applications.

Lead Partners

National Biodiversity Mission

Objective

This mission will include comprehensive documentation of India's biodiversity with the potential for cataloguing and mapping all lifeforms in India including associated cultural and traditional practices; assessment of the distribution and conservation status of India's biodiversity; development of a cadre of professionals adept at handling large sets of environmental data for management and monitoring of biodiversity; expansion of knowledge in ecosystem functioning that will inform restoration efforts; enhanced options for agriculture production and livelihoods; establishment of a vibrant biodiversity-based sustainable economy anchored by a reliable information system; and public engagement for security and the general well-being of society.

Lead Partners

Electric Vehicles

Objective

This mission is critical for India to reduce fossil fuel consumption as well as mitigate emissions. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are a major component of India's mobility plans. For them to become economically viable and scalable, focussed research, development and innovation are needed in order to build indigenous capability. Vehicles need to be energy-efficient, use light and efficient batteries that function well in tropical conditions, and are made with recyclable materials. Through academia-industry collaboration, the development of vehicle sub-systems and components for Indian requirements including rare-earth-based electric motors, Li-ion batteries, power electronics etc. will be addressed.

Lead Partners

Bioscience for Human Health

Objective

India is a diverse country in terms of population as well as the environment. This requires a large-scale study of human genomes specific to our lifestyle and how they impact health and disease patterns. This mission will utilise healthy and disease samples to understand the impact of nature and nurture on health. The primary goal of the mission is to construct comprehensive reference maps of genomes and understand the dynamics of how exposure to different environments impacts our bodies.

The mission will focus on the genomic study of human populations in order to identify and unravel the genetic basis and prevalence of rare and inherited diseases. This mission will help improve diagnosis and treatment techniques, that can ultimately feed into the health care system of the country.

Lead Partners

Waste to Wealth

Objective

The goal of the Waste to Wealth mission is to identify, develop and deploy technologies to treat waste in order to generate energy, recycle materials, and extract worth. The mission will also work to identify and support the development of new technologies that can help create a cleaner and greener environment.

The mission will assist and augment the Swachh Bharat and Smart Cities project by leveraging science, technology and innovation to create circular economic models that are financially viable for waste management to streamline waste handling in India.

Lead Partners

Deep Ocean Exploration

Objective

The purpose of this mission is to scientifically explore deep oceans, with the goal of improving our understanding of the blue frontier. The information from this mission will address issues arising from the long term changes in the ocean due to climate change. The mission's focus areas cover the development of technologies for the deep-sea exploration of living (biodiversity) and non-living (minerals) resources; underwater vehicles and underwater robotics; ocean climate change advisory services; technological innovations and conservational methods for sustainable utilisation of marine bio-resources; offshore-based desalination techniques; and renewable energy generation techniques.

Lead Partners

AGNIi

Objective

Launched by the office of PSA, this mission aims to support national efforts to boost India's innovation ecosystem by connecting innovators across industry, individuals and the grassroots to the market and helping commercialise innovative solutions. It will provide innovators with a platform to bring their technology-ready products and solutions to industry and the market. This will propel techno-entrepreneurship which can usher in a new era of inclusive socio-economic growth.

The mission includes services across the techno-commercialisation chain, that are required to support and upscale market-ready indigenous innovations. The initiative includes: Working with government R&D laboratories and academia to help commercialise their innovations; collaborating and adding value to existing innovation programs; training and capacity building of scientists, innovators, technology transfer offices and technology license offices. Another focus of AGNIi program is to link specific industry needs to research laboratories to enable the development of cost-effective marketable solutions.

Lead Partners

Invest India

Other Projects

Brahmaputra River System

Objective

The Brahmaputra river basin is a critical ecological lifeline for the flora and fauna of India's North-Eastern States. There is a need for a multi-disciplinary applied approach for policy, planning and development, as well as to provide R&D based validated scientific input for river basin planning, management and development (scientific modelling, simulation, prediction) for Brahmaputra river. This can be done through robust scientific data collection and sharing, integration of satellite imagery and using this scientific data for sustainable and integrated development of North-East Indian states.

City Research and Innovation Clusters

Objective

Several cities have seen major investments - both in research infrastructure and trained scientific manpower for establishing high-end institutions in the scientific and technological sector. Similarly, the knowledge industry has also grown as an enterprise in these cities. Yet, the connection between R&D institutions, academia, including state universities and industry is weak. The aim of the city cluster is to create a platform to leverage complementary strengths through effective collaboration and cooperation by developing a functional connect. The clusters will serve as hubs, which will interact with the broader city ecosystem-including state universities, colleges, medical schools and local administration. Another major part of this project involves the development of research programmes in the state university system by providing an enabling ecosystem.

The Indian Museum of Earth (TIME)

Objective

The Indian subcontinent has a vast and unique geological heritage. It is important to preserve this, as it provides an important link from the present to the past. India was a cradle for the evolution of many biotic elements and their subsequent dispersal to other continents. Besides their role in understanding the past and present-day climate system and the exploration of natural resources, fossils and geological features are also an important component of India's natural heritage. It is important that this heritage is showcased in an exemplary manner which is both scientific and educative, through the establishment of a state-of-the-art Earth Museum.

The Earth Museum will serve as a national repository for specimen fossil preservation and conservation. Additionally, it will be designed as a major centre for research in geology and other natural sciences. This will help educate and citizens about the importance of exploration, conservation and preservation of our natural heritage, along with its academic and scientific significance.

I-STEM- Indian Science Technology, and Engineering facilities Map

Objective

To create a regularly updated national portal of publically funded R&D facilities and equipment, installed and working in R&D and academic institutions across the country. this web-based access will foster efficient and optimal use of equipment and capabilities, as well as enable academic and industry collaboration within the R&D community. The I-STEM web portal will provide an effective gateway to link researchers with resources.

Energy Security

Objective

With regard to the national mission on Electric Mobility, an expert committee has been set up in consultation with the Ministry of Mines, Government of India. The committee would deal with the exploration and procurement of critical minerals required for the EV sector. Its aim is to examine India's reserves of Lithium, Cobalt etc. as well as examine possible tie-ups with the mining sectors of other countries to source these resources. KABIL, a joint venture of Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) have initiated preliminary discussions for possible agreements to source Lithium and Cobalt from countries such as Australia, Argentina and Bolivia. After visits to various mines in Argentina, follow-up activities are now underway with an aim to boost the availability of these critical minerals.