On 9 July, India signed
five MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding) in the field of Science &
Technology with South Korea.
The Union
Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan and the South Korean Minister of
Science and Technology, Mr You Young Min signed three MoUs for
Cooperation in Biotechnology & Bio-economy, the Establishment of Future
Strategy Group and the Programme of Cooperation 2018-21.
According to the press statement released by the
Ministry of Science and Technology, the MoU on cooperation in the field of
biotechnology and bio-economics calls for cooperation in adoption of
biotechnology and bio big-data in health, medicine, agro-fishery products,
precision medicine, brain research, digital healthcare, creating advanced
medical equipment, bio-research resources, genome editing and developing
environmental sectors through biotechnology.
The MoU on the Establishment of a Future
Strategy Group was signed by Indian Science & Technology and Commerce
Ministers, while on the Korean side, it was signed by Science and ICT and Trade
Ministers. The Future Strategic Group is expected to develop a collaborative
platform that will utilise the potential of both the countries to foster
innovation and have far-reaching social and economic impacts. The objective of
the MoU on the Future Strategy Group is to develop state-of-the-art
technologies in areas including the internet of things (IoT), artificial
intelligence (AI), big data and 3D-printing. It also aims to use technology to
provide affordable healthcare for the elderly and specially-abled. Both
countries will be co-funding collaborative enterprise-led joint R&D
projects covering digital transformation, future manufacturing, future
utilities and healthcare.
Both countries renewed the Programme
of Cooperation in the field of Science and Technology for 2018-21 to augment
the cooperation in science, technology and innovation.
Two
other MoUs were inked between
the Council of
Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), and the South Korean National Research
Council for Science & Technology (NST); and the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) Mumbai and Korea Institute of Science & Technology, to
bolster cooperation in scientific and technological research in their
respective sectors. Through the MoU, both the countries will cooperate in
scientific & technological research, including areas of affordable water
purification technologies, intelligent transport systems, new/alternative
materials, traditional and oriental medicines and technology packaging and
commercialisation.
Dr Harsh Vardhan and Mr You Young Min also went
over the bilateral Science and Technology cooperation between the two countries
since the last meeting of the Steering Committee at Seoul in November 2015.
They agreed to launch an Indo-Korean Centre for Research and
Innovation (IKCRI) in India that will function as the hub for
systematic operations and to manage of all cooperative programmes in research
and innovation between the two countries, including innovation,
entrepreneurship and technology transfer.
The two countries have also agreed to
collaboratively establish two additional India-Korea Joint Network Centres in
areas for artificial intelligence (Cyber-Physical Systems), the internet
of things that are focused on agriculture, energy, water and transportation and
semiconductor electronics. These centres will leverage existing
infrastructure and funding available from the partners on both sides in focused
applied research areas that will accelerate the progress in technology
development.
The press release quoted Dr Harsh Vardhan
saying that India can lead newly industrialising countries in developing and
adopting affordable technologies and processes and demonstrate a growth path
and low energy consumption pattern that would be more sustainable than that of the
industrial countries.
The MoUs were signed at the end of the
fourth India-Korea Science & Technology Ministers Steering Committee
Meeting.
