Highlights of Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh’s 6-day visit to the UK

Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Ministry of State (Independent Charge (IC)) Science & Technology made a 6-day visit to the United Kingdom (UK) from April 26 to May 1, 2023, to hold a series of meetings with his counterpart Ministers in the Government of the UK as well as with the Indian diaspora, StartUps and academicians.

-India-UK ‘Net Zero’ Innovation Virtual Centre 

i.Jitendra Singh chaired the India-UK Science & Innovation Council meeting co-chaired by George Freeman, UK Science Minister.

ii.At the council meeting, Jitendra Singh announced the joint establishment of the India-UK ‘Net Zero’ Innovation Virtual Centre focusing on industrial decarbonisation and launching the first-ever India-UK scientific deep sea voyage.

• Innovation Virtual Centre will facilitate collaboration between stakeholders from both nations to work on focus areas such as the decarbonization of manufacturing processes and transportation systems and green hydrogen as a renewable energy source.

-India, UK Signed Agreement to Collaborate on Science and Innovation

i.On April 26, 2023, India and the UK  signed a landmark agreement to collaborate on science and innovation that will drive economic growth, create skilled jobs and improve lives in the UK, India, and worldwide.

• Under the agreement, India was named as a partner for the UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund, carrying forward the UK-India science partnership built through the Newton-Bhabha fund.

ii.Both Jitendra Singh and Freeman called for newer collaborations for joint Research and Development Projects.

• Projects between Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and Innovation Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India in the area of Farmed Animal disease and Health.
• Projects between the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), GoI and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), UK, in the area of Solid Earth hazards.

iii.Other agreements between UK and Indian institutions in research and innovation include:

• Funding 10 new UK-India Fisheries Research Fellowships.
• A programme of UK-India university partnerships, including one between Aston University and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Dehradun, Uttarakhand, on sustainable biofuels.

UK & India Development Collaboration:

i.UK has emerged as India’s second-largest international research and innovation partner.

ii.The India-UK Science & Technology (S&T) collaboration has been growing at a rapid pace and the joint research programme has gone from an almost zero base to close to £300-400 million.

iii.Points to be Noted: Jitendra Singh invited UK Minister Freeman to the G20 Research Ministers meetings to be held in Mumbai (Maharashtra) on 6th July 2023.

• India is holding G20 Presidency in 2023 and organising a number of meetings in scientific tracks, including Science 20 (S20),  Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and Scientific Advisers meetings.

India’s Achievements:

i.Jitendra Singh also mentioned India’s net zero journey, emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

• He also mentioned India’s achievements in Science and Technology such as India’s massive rise in its ranking on the Global Innovation Index (GII) from 81st in 2015 to 40th in 2022 among 132 economies of the world, 3rd rank in terms of the number of StartUps, Unicorns, scientific publications and PhDs awarded.

ii.He highlighted the collaboration between the two countries strengthened through an ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’ that provides a framework for UK-India relations across health, climate, trade, education, science and technology, and defence.

Additional info:

• On May 1, 2023, Jitendra Singh had an exclusive interactive meeting with the London-based Jammu & Kashmir-origin social groups and students.
• The visit marks Jitendra Singh’s first visit after the new Government headed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took over in the UK.

Note – Jitendra Singh also holds the position of Minister of State(MoS) (IC) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions.

Recent Related News:

From September 20–25, 2022, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh,Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS PMO, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, paid an official visit for 5 days to the United States of America (USA).

About Ministry of Science and Technology:

Ministers of state (independent Charges) – Dr. Jitendra Singh (Constituency – Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir)