India, Russia team up to promote innovation, R&D

India, Russia team up to promote innovation, R&D

India has signed a joint declaration with Russia to promote innovation and the R&D ecosystem between the two countries. The declaration (घोषणा) was signed between the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation on the sidelines of the Global R&D Summit 2017. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, said that with this collaboration, there will be an effort to promote innovation and technology entrepreneurship through development of long-term cooperation, co-innovation and direct contacts between Russian and Indian innovation clusters and also business associations, techno-parks, business incubators, hitech companies, start-ups, educational and research institutions. “Today, the DST is supports over 100 business incubators that are in turn help over 2,000 start-ups. Over the course of time, we plan to double these numbers as innovation is expected to grow exponentially(तेजी से) in the next five years,” Sharma said.

The Ficci (Federation of India Chamber of Commerce and Industry) officials added that the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board of the DST, will be responsible for the implementation (कार्यान्वयन) of the joint declaration from the Indian side. The two countries also agreed to implement joint projects in innovation, and exchange information and best practices in the innovation space. “We need to extend the collaborations (सहयोग) in developing innovation capabilities for various sectors in the spirit of India-Russia partnerships,” said Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Fomichev Oleg Vladislavovich in a statement.

The push towards R&D is coming at a time when India is looking to become the third-largest R&D hub in the world, after China and the US. Shekar Viswanathan, Chairman, FICCI Karnataka State Council, and Vice-Chairman and Whole-time Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said R&D and innovation is a crucial leg (महत्वपूर्ण पैर) to growth and development.

“The ecosystem in places like Bengaluru testify to the potential India has, and by collaboration, this can be fastened and taken to the next level,” said RV Deshpande, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries.

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