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 said the draft of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, 2022 (STIP 2022) has envisioned putting India among the top five in terms of quality of research outcomes by the year 2030 by building a robust science, technology and innovation ecosystem in the country. 

The draft STIP 2022 has envisioned to have 30 per cent participation of women in science by 2030. Some of the key steps taken by the government include: women scientist-specific schemes of DST to provide opportunities to women scientists and technologists, especially those who had a break in career under its three components namely, i) Women Scientists Scheme-A (WOS-A) for conducting research in Basic & Applied Sciences, ii) Women Scientists Scheme-B (WOS-B) for research that entails S&T interventions for societal benefit, and iii) Women Scientists Scheme-C (WOS-C) for internship in Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).

In addition to strengthening and expanding the scope of ongoing R&D programmes, some of the key elements of the draft policy which aim to enhance the quality of research outcome include creation of conducive culture of profound research in institutions and industry to propel disruptive discoveries and inventions as well as the translational research; ‘Research and Innovation Excellence Framework (RIEF)’ to set up benchmarking mechanisms for recognizing the outcomes and impact of R&D, with respect to its quality, relevance to meaningful impact on society and national needs.