The 26th Edition of 3 day DST-CII (Department of Science & Technology-Confederation of Indian Industry) Technology Summit 2020 was held virtually from December 7-9, 2020. Portugal was the partner country for 2020’s edition of Technology Summit. The meeting was organized by DST, CII. Manuel Heitor, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Portugal was the Guest of Honour at the Summit. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, India inaugurated the event.
From the Portugal side, Foundation for Science & Technology (FCT), Ministry of Education, Government of Portugal was responsible for organizing the event.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also inaugurated the high-technology digital exhibition on 7th December 2020 as part of the summit.
Focus of the Summit:
The sectors which were discussed during the Summit were Watertech, Agritech, Healthtech, Energy, Climate change, Cleantech, Information Technology (IT), Information & Communication Technology (ICT) & Advanced Technologies, space-ocean interactions, innovation and start-ups.
Participants:
i.Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Helena Pereira, President, Board of Directors of FCT (Foundation for Science & Technology), Jose Paulo Esperanca, Vice President of FCT, Nandini Singla, Ambassador of India to Portugal, Carlos Pereira Marques, Ambassador of Portugal to India, Vipin Sondhi, Chairman, Technology Summit and CII National Committee on R&D and Innovation, Alok Nanda, Vice Chairman, CII National Committee on R&D and Innovation.
ii.Around 2, 200 delegates (200 from Portugal, 2000 from India & 64 from other countries) participated in the summit.
Key Points:
i.India invited several countries like the United Kingdom, United States of America, Israel, Sweden, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Japan, Canada, Australia and Singapore to participate in the summit.
ii.Portugal expressed interest towards working with India in cleantech, healthcare, space.
iii.As India is set to bring its new Geo-Space policy, Portugal is keen to work with India in the satellite sector.
iv.A high-technology digital exhibition was also held as part of the summit. The digital exhibition served as a platform for participants to showcase their technology in areas like water, health, energy, cleantech.
CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2020:
CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2020 were presented during the 26th DST-CII Technology Summit 2020. 18 regular awards, 8 category awards, and 1 grand award were given to the most innovative company of the year. A special category of awards was introduced this year to acknowledge significant contributions through innovative solutions from research institutions.
- IIT Roorkee adjudged as ‘The Most Innovative Research Institute of the Year’ under Innovation Quotient
- IIT Madras adjudged as ‘The Most Innovative Research Institute of the Year’ under Disruptive Innovations.
- Lakshmi Machine Works limited- TMD won the Grand Award Winner-The Most Innovative Company of the Year 2020
Click here to read all the awards.
Ashutosh Sharma’s Address:
i.Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST) highlighted the successful bilateral research cooperation between India’s DST & Foundation for Science & Technology (FCT) of Portugal.
ii.DST & FCT to restructure cooperation in sectors like water, healthcare, agriculture, IT, Clean technologies.
iii.Around 450 proposals received for the India-Portugal Joint call for research.
iv.Both countries agreed to deepen scientific partnership between researchers by establishing bilateral research networks, increasing cooperation in research, and promotion of exchange of knowledge between Indian and Portugese scientists.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan’s address:
i.Union Minister of Science & Technology, Harsh Vardhan stated that 100 startups provided innovative products and solutions to face challenges caused by COVID-19.
ii.He highlighted that around 50, 000 startups have been nurtured by the Government of India in the last 5 years (2016-2020). Around 33 startups achieved unicorn status (companies with valuations of above USD 1 Billion).
India-Portugal Bilateral Trade:
i.India & Portugal have signed 20 agreements in the last 4 years (2017-2020) in sectors like marine research, robotics, waterways, cleantech.
ii.In 2019, The bilateral trade between India-Portugal crossed the USD 1 Billion mark. India’s investments in Portugal crossed USD 350 Million.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 29, 2020 Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology e-launched a scheme titled ‘SERB- POWER’ designed exclusively for women scientists.
ii.On 29th September 2020, at the 3rd edition of UNSDG Action Awards 2020, CII Foundation received the UNSDG Action Award 2020 from UNDP in partnership with the Government of Punjab for their work on crop residue management.
About Confederation of Indian Industry (CII):
President – Uday Kotak
Headquarters – New Delhi
About Portugal:
Prime Minister – Antonio Costa
Capital – Lisbon
Currency – Euro
