Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh yesterday inaugurated a two-day ‘CSIR HealthCare Theme Conclave’ at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), in Srinagar. The conclave is being organized under the ‘One Week One Theme (OWOT)’ Campaign of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with the prime focus on fostering innovation and startup ecosystem in the Healthcare Sector.
During his inaugural address, Dr. Jitendra Singh mentioned how the country has come a long way from only a few hundred startups in 2014 to several thousand now, with many success stories. He said that some of these companies with humble beginnings now provide employment to hundreds of people and sell their products and services not only in India but abroad as well. He mentioned India’s rise in the Global Innovation Index from 81 to 40, recognizing the youth’s potential, unlocked through policies introduced under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership since 2014.
Dr Singh said that there is a greater need for supporting deep-tech startups in the healthcare sector to become Atma Nirbhar and achieve the target of Viksit Bharat 2047. He added that towards this end the Modi Government 3.0 has brought the BioE3 policy and allocated Rs. 1,000 crores for startups and Rs. 2,600 cr for industrial hubs. Dr Jitendra Singh emphasized the rapid growth of the startup ecosystem in Jammu & Kashmir, which has expanded from 30 to over 350 startups in the past five years.
On the occasion, J&K Science & Technology Minister Satish Sharma said that his government is committed to providing all the support to youth who wish to set up their own companies, as this will also provide much-needed employment opportunities in the UT. The One Week One Theme (OWOT) Campaign is the brainchild of Dr Jitendra Singh, aimed at creating awareness about the scientific and technological progress made by CSIR Labs, for improving engagement among stakeholders such as MSMEs, Startups, scientists and researchers to foster collaboration and provide new avenues employment. Many startups participated in the event.
