APPSC Group-2 Mains 2025 Quick Revision Science and Technology Part-1
✦ Scientific Policy Resolution of 1958 was India’s first science policy, which primarily focused on promoting basic research across various fields of science. It highlighted the importance of developing and ensuring the availability of essential infrastructure to support scientific research. It was drafted by the Jawaharlal Nehru government.
✦ SPR 1958 aimed to “foster, promote and sustain” the “cultivation of science and scientific research in all its aspects”. It aimed to create a large pool of high-quality scientists.
✦ Technology Policy Statement of 1983 was the second policy, which primarily aimed at achieving technological competence and self-reliance. It aims to promote and develop indigenous technologies.
✦ Science and Technology Policy 2003 (STP 2003) which brought the benefits of Science and Technology to the forefront and focused on the investment required for research and development along with the national innovation system.
✦ India declared the decade of 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Innovation“. This announcement was made by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his address at the 97th Indian Science Congress in 2010 at Thiruvananthapuram.
✦ Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 2013 (STIP 2013) focused on the large demographic dividend and set the paradigm “Science technology and innovation for the people.” It set a target of increasing public and private R&D expenditure to 2% of GDP and encouraged PPPs. It aimed at positioning India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020.
✦ Increasing the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of R&D personnel in India by at least 66% of the present strength in 5 years was aspired by STIP 2013.
✦ STIP 2013 was released in Kolkata at the centenary session of the Indian Science Congress.
✦ Department of Science and Technology (DST) released the draft of the 5th National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) on January 1, 2021. The draft was released for public consultation. It was a collaborative effort between the DST and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA). It was released in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
✦ Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020) aims to create a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive innovation ecosystem that drives scientific advancement and addresses national challenges. This policy formulation framework involves 4 detailed tracks of activities and a coordination mechanism through a centralized secretariat. It revolves around the core principles of being decentralized, evidence-informed, bottom-up, experts-driven, and inclusive.
- Track 1 (Extended public and expert consultation) aims to create a repository of public voices that will act as a guiding force for the drafting process.
- Track 2 (Thematic group consultation) consultations comprises 21 expert-driven thematic collectives to feed evidence based recommendations into the policy drafting process.
- Track 3 (Ministries and State consultation) brings together Ministries and States in extensive engagement through nominated nodal officers
- Track 4 (Apex Level Multi Stakeholder consultation) is the binding force that draws upon apex level multi-stakeholder engagement at the national and global levels. Inputs from these wide-ranging deliberations will finally lead to STIP 2020.
✦ Technology Missions are the package programmes meant to speed up economic and social development in India. These missions are integral to the country’s strategy for addressing national challenges through innovation and scientific advancement. These missions aim to drive technological self-reliance, improve living standards, promote sustainable development, and enhance India’s position as a global leader in science and technology.
✦ Technology Mission on Oilseeds, Pulses, and Edible Oils 1986: Aimed to increase domestic production of oilseeds and pulses to reduce reliance on imports and achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils.
✦ In 1987, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi along with his advisor Sam Pitroda initiated Technology Missions that focused on six critical areas: Drinking water, Immunizations, Literacy, Oil seeds, Telecommunications and Dairy production.
✦ Mission on Telecommunication (1987): To revolutionize India’s telecommunications infrastructure and make it more accessible to rural and urban areas alike.
✦ Mission on Oilseeds (1987): To reduce India’s dependency on edible oil imports by boosting domestic oilseed production.
✦ Mission on Water Resources (1987): To improve water availability and irrigation systems, particularly in drought-prone areas, by utilizing modern technology in water management.
✦ Mission on Fertilizers (1987): To enhance the production and availability of fertilizers in India and reduce dependence on imports.
✦ Mission on Dairy Development (1987): To transform India into a dairy self-sufficient nation, focusing on increasing milk production and improving dairy farming practices. Today, India is the number one producer of milk in the world. Indai contributed 24 percent of global milk production in the year 2021-22 as per Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT).
✦ National Literacy Mission (NLM) was initiated in 1988 with an aim to impart functional literacy to all non-literate persons in 15-35 age group. This meant enabling individuals to read, write, and perform basic arithmetic calculations necessary for everyday life. NLM was later succeeded by the Saakshar Bharat Mission in 2009. Total Literacy Programmes and Post Literacy Programme were two flagship programmes of NLM. The goal of the Mission was to attain a sustainable threshold literacy rate of 75 per cent by 2007 and aimed to achieve a 10% reduction in the gender gap in literacy.
✦ Technology Mission on Cotton (2000) was launched to improve cotton production and productivity with internationally competitive fiber quality.
✦ Jute Technology Mission was launched in Eleventh Plan period (2006-07 to 2011-12). It comprised of four Mini Missions.
- Mini Mission I aims to improve yield and quality.
- Mini Mission II aims to transfer improved technology and practices in production and post harvesting phase.
- Mini Mission III aims for providing market linkage of raw jute in all jute growing states.
- Mini Missions IV aims to modernise jute industry, up gradation of skills and market promotion.
- Jute Corporation of India was the nodal agency to implement it. It was created in 1971 to strengthen jute sector.
✦ National Food Security Mission (NFSM) was launched in October 2007 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the 11th Five Year Plan. Its primary goal is to increase the production of essential food grains through area expansion, productivity improvement, and efficient resource use while ensuring food and nutritional security. It also aims to enhance Farmers’ Income.
✦ National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has been made operational from the year 2014-15 which aims at making agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated /composite farming systems; soil and moisture conservation measures; comprehensive soil health management; efficient water management practices and mainstreaming rainfed technologies.
✦ Nine Science and Technology Missions launched by Prime Minister’s Science, Technology & Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
- Natural Language Translation Mission: Aims to develop cutting-edge technologies for accurate and efficient machine translation.
- Quantum Frontier Mission: Focuses on research and development in quantum technologies, including quantum computing, communication, and sensing.
- Artificial Intelligence Mission: Aims to advance artificial intelligence research and development in India, fostering innovation and addressing societal challenges.
- National Biodiversity Mission: Seeks to conserve and sustainably utilize India’s rich biodiversity.
- Electric Vehicles Mission: Aims to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in India, promoting sustainable transportation.
- Bio-Science for Human Health Mission: Focuses on improving human health through advancements in biotechnology and biomedical research.
- Waste to Wealth Mission: Seeks to develop innovative technologies for waste management and resource recovery.
- Deep Ocean Exploration Mission: Aims to explore and understand the deep oceans, harnessing marine resources for sustainable development.
- AGNIi (Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations) Mission: Aims to foster a vibrant innovation ecosystem in India, supporting startups, entrepreneurs, and researchers.
✦ Saakshar Bharat 2009: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Adult Education and Skill Development. It was launched on 8th September, 2009 and brought to implementation with effect from 1st October, 2009.
- The Government has enacted ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’ (RTE) for universalization of elementary education in the age group of 6-14 years and launched Saakshar Bharat to enhance the literacy level in the age group of 15 years and above.
- A target has been set to raise the literacy levels to 80 per cent and reduce the gender gap to 10 percentile points, besides bridging regional disparities, by the end of XII Five Year Plan.
✦ National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP): It was a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2012. NMFP focuses on food processing for enhancing farm productivity and farmer’s revenue. It facilitates in addressing both institutional and infrastructural gaps along the value chains. It also has provision for promoting skill development, training and entrepreneurship in post-harvest management.
✦ Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) 2014: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in India aimed at promoting the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa. All States/UTs are covered under MIDH.
✦ Technology Mission on Coconut 2014: It is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2014 to enhance the productivity and profitability of coconut cultivation in India. It aims to foster research and development in the coconut sector to improve the quality and yield of coconuts.
✦ Jute Technology Mission 2015 was introduced by Ministry of Textile to improve the yield and quality of jute fibre.
✦ National Livestock Mission (NLM) scheme: Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying is implementing this scheme since 2014. The scheme has been realigned during 2021-22. The salient features of the scheme are employment generation, entrepreneurship development, increase in per animal productivity and thus targeting increased production of meat, goat milk, egg and wool. It also includes camel.
✦ Department of Science and Technology (DST) Missions
- National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS): Aims to develop cutting-edge technologies in areas like robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.
- National Quantum Mission: Focuses on research and development in quantum technologies, including quantum computing, communication, and sensing.
- National Supercomputing Mission: Seeks to establish a world-class supercomputing infrastructure in India to support scientific research and industrial applications.
- Climate Change Missions: Include initiatives to address climate change challenges, such as renewable energy development and climate change mitigation.
