Vigyan Dhara

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

Context

• The Union Cabinet approved continuation of the three umbrella schemes, merged into a unified central sector scheme namely ‘Vigyan Dhara’ of Department of Science and Technology (DST).

About

• DST acts as the nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting S&T activities in the country. 
• Three central sector umbrella schemes were being implemented by DST towards promoting Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in the country:
  • Science and Technology (S&T) Institutional and Human Capacity Building,
  • Research and Development and
  • Innovation, Technology Development and Deployment. 
• These three schemes have been merged into the unified scheme ‘Vigyan Dhara’.

Vigyan Dhara

• The objective was to focus scientific energies on some specific areas that were key to India’s sustainable growth and development in the coming decades.
• Implementation of the scheme will strengthen the S&T infrastructure of the country by fostering well-equipped R&D labs in the Academic Institutions.
• The scheme endeavours to promote research in areas such as basic research with access to the international mega facilities, translational research in sustainable energy, water, etc. and collaborative research through international bilateral and multilateral cooperation. 
• All the programs proposed under the ‘Vigyan Dhara’ scheme would be aligned with the 5-year goals of DST towards realising the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. 
• The research and development component of the scheme will be aligned in line with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF).
• Internships would be arranged for students in the 11th and 12th grades and fellowships for research at the graduate and postgraduate level.

Significance

• The merger of the schemes into a single scheme would enhance efficiency in fund utilization and establish synchronization among the sub-schemes/programs.
• It will contribute to building a critical human resource pool to strengthen the science and technology landscape and expand the R&D base of the country towards improving the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) researcher count. 
• Focused interventions will be taken up to enhance the participation of women in the field of S&T with the ultimate goal of bringing gender parity in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). 
• The scheme would reinforce the efforts of the government towards promoting innovations at all levels, starting from school level to higher education, and for the industries and startups through targeted interventions. 

Source: IE