11 states working on S&T policies of their own: Union minister

New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) Apart from Gujarat, which was the only state to have a Science & Technology policy, 11 more states, including those from the northeast, are now working to prepare their respective Science and Technology policies."Different states have different capacities, but all of them are on board to work jointly with the Centre in areas such as R&D, innovation and STI ecosystem. After brainstorming sessions for the last four months, 11 more states, including Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, are preparing their S&T policy," Union Minister for Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh, said on Wednesday.Each of the states and Union Territories has been asked to identify the areas where technological interventions can help resolve diverse problems to enable ease of living for the common man, he said.For instance, the UT government of Jammu & Kashmir will be assisted through the latest snow clearing technology, while Puducherry and Tamil Nadu are being assisted in restoration and renovation of sea-beach. Singh was speaking while presiding over a high-level joint meeting of all the science ministries and science departments at Prithvi Bhawan, the Ministry of Earth Sciences headquarters here.Meanwhile, Singh said that a common booklet on reforms undertaken by all the six S&T departments, including Space and Atomic Energy, since 2014 would be compiled and released in the coming days.
--IANS niv/arm

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