Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday unveiled NITI Aayog’s roadmap to bolster State Science and Technology Councils, calling on States to align their research priorities with the Centre’s push to make India a knowledge-driven economy.
Speaking at the launch event at NITI Aayog, Singh described science and technology as the country’s “key growth engine” that would steer India’s aim of becoming the world’s third-largest economy. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for overhauling India’s planning architecture by replacing the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog in 2014, calling it a shift towards long-term, evidence-based policymaking.
The roadmap aims to create closer coordination between the Centre and States to unlock regional scientific talent and ensure grassroots-level impact of research. “State S\&T Councils must become effective bridges between labs and communities,” Singh said, urging States to link up with industry to help start-ups scale and attract private investment.
He underlined the Centre’s focus on public-private partnerships and called for reducing overdependence on government funding for innovation. “A mindset shift is crucial if we want to unlock innovation at scale,” he said.
Singh also pointed to India’s recent scientific strides — from Chandrayaan-3 to indigenous vaccine development and gene therapy trials — as evidence of growing global credibility. Resident patent filings have jumped by over 50% and nearly two-thirds of India’s research output now comes from centrally funded institutions, he added.
Describing the newly established Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) as a “game-changer”, Singh said it would bridge gaps between academia and industry through co-investment in research. He also highlighted the liberalisation of India’s space and nuclear sectors and called for the government to play the role of facilitator rather than controller.
NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery said the roadmap was necessary for States to align with national development goals and drive sustainable innovation. Member V.K. Saraswat stressed the need to embed sustainability into research and strengthen state-level capacity building.
Senior officials including CSIR Director General Dr. N Kalaiselvi, Earth Sciences Secretary Dr. M Ravichandran, and ANRF CEO Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman were present at the launch.