Science, education, and tech saw transformational changes in last 11 years: IIT Madras Director

New Delhi, June 10 The last 11 years, under the reign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have seen transformational changes across science, education, and technology sectors in the country, IIT Madras Director, Dr V. Kamakoti, said on Tuesday.

Speaking to IANS, Kamakoti called the last 11 years "golden", which led to several successful nationwide missions -- from the cleanliness mission to Covid vaccines to startups to the apt use of emerging technologies.

Kamakoti stated that India faced the biggest challenge of developing vaccines during the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

"Not only did we develop two Aatmanirbhar vaccines, but we also donated them to several deserving countries. And that happened under the very able guidance and leadership of PM Modi," he said.

He also mentioned how the Union Budget focused on developing Sustainable Cities, agriculture, health, and Centres of Excellence for education.

Kamakoti said the government also catalysed AI and other emerging technologies in developing human capacity and ultimately the nation's growth.

"Several national missions in the areas of critical and emerging technologies played a very important role in these 11 years. The National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical systems, the National Quantum Mission, and the National Semiconductor Mission are three important ones that played a very crucial role in developing expertise in critical and emerging technologies," he said.

These missions, Kamakoti said, are not only concentrated on research but also on developing "good entrepreneurship and innovation skills in and youth of our country".

Further, the Director also noted how startups got a boost in the last 11 years, with several moving "to the next stages of funding and surely marching towards becoming a unicorn".

Another area that saw improvement is patenting, which was very difficult some decades earlier. It has now become very smooth, Kamakoti said.

In addition, the Director highlighted how higher education and research saw a boost during the last 11 years.

"The Prime Minister Research Fellowship encourages PhD students to do high-end research with very good funding and scholarships," Kamakoti said.

Another is the National Research Fund, which is going to give a different landscape to the research in our country.

"Our honourable Prime Minister has set the real foundation for 2047 and we are ever grateful to him," Kamakoti said.

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