India International Science Festival (IISF)-2022

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh says, India International Science Festival (IISF)-2022 to be held in Bhopal in January 2023 assumes significance as it is coinciding with India’s presidency of the G20 Summit

Dr Jitendra Singh also called for more and more Deep Tech Startups and startups in newer areas with Indian signature

IISF is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad: Dr Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said, India International Science Festival (IISF)-2022 will be held in Bhopal in January 2023 and incidentally, it is one of the major events to be held after India took over G-20 Presidency.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in the last over 8 years under the Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scientific breakthroughs have reached from the lab to the land, indeed every household while applications of science have been used to bring “Ease of Living” for the common man.

Dr Jitendra Singh also called for more and more Agritech Startups and StartUps in newer areas with Indian signature. He said, even non-science StartUps with new ideas and innovations are welcome.

Dwelling on the subject of IISF, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad. He said, it also provides opportunities to people and scientific fraternity in the country and abroad to come together, work together and experience the joy of doing science for the wellbeing of India and humanity.

The Minister suggested to the organizers to set up a Mentor’s Desk at the IISF to guide the students as well as parents about potential innovative initiatives.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that there will be fourteen events organized during these four days which will be running parallel with the participation of more than 8,000 delegates from across the country. More than lakhs of local visitors will witness the festival and will remember the festival for its unique grandeur and creativity in science.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, IISF has evolved progressively through its innovative design of programs and activities connecting various aspects of life to science. The number of participants from India and abroad has grown steadily with every edition and the journey is on involving more and more people to attain the desired outcome. The Minister said, the participation of Department of Space (DOS) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in supporting IISF is an added attraction this year.

MSME and Science and Technology Minister from Madhya Pradesh Government Shri Om Prakash Saklecha also addressed the conference and welcomed Dr Jitendra Singh and his Ministry to Bhopal, the heart of India. He also promised to set up a Science Colony in Bhopal during the Science Festival. Shri Saklecha called for display of smart and knowledge toys at IISF.

India International Science Festival (IISF)-2022 will be held at the capital city of India’s Heart-Bhopal from 21-24 January 2023. IISF is the initiative of the Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Science of Government of India in association with Vijnana Bharati which is a science movement with swadeshi spirit led by eminent scientists of the country.

Secretary, DBT, Dr Rajesh S Gokhale said, IISF will be celebration of science and it will a means to connect to society. He said, the Face-to-Face with New Frontiers in Science will be another highlight of this Festival which would help in establishing cordial interaction and short discussion-based sessions of students/ researchers with the experts from cutting edge technologies and research.

Guinness Book of World Records will remain the part of IISF-2022 to attain newer feats. Young students, our budding scientists, will gather to create Guinness World Records as they gear up for the simultaneous assembly of prototype models and demonstrate workable models, sending a message of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The IISF 2022 is the eighth edition since its inception in 2015. The first and second IISF were held in New Delhi, the third in Chennai, the fourth one in Lucknow, fifth in Kolkata, sixth through virtual mode and the last one IISF was held in Goa which witnessed a footfall from over 5 lakh people worldwide. The pandemic in 2020 due to Covid-19 posed a serious challenge for the conduct of this annual event, but the challenge was overcome by conducting the event on a virtual platform to maintain the uninterrupted flow of journey.

Multitude of significant events are lined up for IISF 2022, which will host more than 14 different events during this period. For school students, a Students Science Village will be a major highlight. More than 2500 school students from all over the nation have been invited. The Students Science Village programme is for the students from class VIII to XI and the coordinating teachers nominated by the Members of the Parliament from their respective villages adopted under “Pradhan Mantri Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana”.

The Young Scientists’ Conference is another major event, where in around 1500 young scientists and researchers are expected to interact with various subject matter experts of international repute. An exhibition of India’s Scientific & Technological prowess would also be in display through several expos, the most prominent being the Mega Science Expo. Startup Conclave would be another highlight where more than 600 startups are expected to join with a special focus on the Biotech Innovation ecosystem.

This year’s IISF will also witness “Vigyanika”, the Science Literature Festival where several programs related to the various genre will been organized. As a new feather to the cap, two-day Student’s Innovation Festival (SIF22), is added to IISF 2022. SIF22 would provide an avenue for showcasing innovative products, projects, and ideas developed by Students, we see the best technology being incubated here. The International Science Film Festival of India (ISFFI) will be another highlight of the festival and will promote in recognizing the efforts of filmmakers and motivate them to develop scientific and innovative content.

Outreach programme is pre-launch popularisation programme of IISF 2022. We appeal to all Government Scientific Institutions and Organizations to organise a one-day programme for students to propagate and bring awareness about different disciplines of science in a holistic manner.

Non-formal, yet educative activities during the IISF are attracting a wide range of publics, with different ethnicity, educational levels, and interests. It offers a unique opportunity for the students, young engineers, budding entrepreneurs to engage with scientists and experience STEM disciplines’ application in the real world. IISF like science festivals will be successful only when we have the maximum number of participations. Thus, appeal to all the science and related ministries and departments to promote the IISF 2022 and encourage as many participants as you can to participate and celebrate.

Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences, Shri M Ravichandran, Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, Dr Ajay K Sood, Prof Sudhanshu Vrati, Executive Director, RCB, Faridabad, Dr Alka Sharma, Senior Advisor, DBT and MD BIRAC, Prof Sudhir S Bhadauria, Secretary General, VIBHA and Dr Sanjay K Mishra also attended the conference.

Source : https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1882849