Union Minister of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan gave away Students Innovations for Advancement of Research Explorations - Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (SITARE-GYTI) and Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technological Innovations-Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (SRISTI-GYTI) awards, at a virtual function in New Delhi.

Fourteen awards and eleven appreciation awards under SITARE-GYTI, and Seven awards and 16 appreciation awards under SRISTI-GYTI were given. The awardees were selected after rigorous review process by eminent professors and scientists in respective fields.

Highlights

    • Gandhian Young Technological Innovation awards constitute two categories of awards, SITARE–GYTI under Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and SRISTI-GYTI given by SRISTI.

    • The awards and appreciations are given under these two categories to encourage technology students to move towards setting up Biotech and other start-ups.

    • More than Rs. Ten Crores worth of other awards and investment have been mobilized by the SITARE-GYTI winners so far besides 89 publications, and 39 patents being under progress.

    • SITARE has been conceived by BIRAC to galvanise the power of creativity and innovative thinking among the young minds.

    • ‘The Honey Bee Network’ has made to trigger grassroots innovation movement in India is unparalleled worldwide.

    • SRISTI has added GYTI platform to encourage innovations for grassroots and other sectors of India to encourage technologies that are frugal and on verge of technological breakthrough.

    • Under SITARE-GYTI awards, 250 entries from student innovators with potential for Biotech and life science start-ups were received in six categories from 96 universities and institutes across 23 states and Union Territories.

    • More than 700 entries were received under SRISTI-GYTI in 42 technology domains from 270 universities and institutes belonging to 27 states and union territories.

    • The evaluation committee, in addition to many others, included hundreds of very eminent experts including vice chancellors of Universities, Directors and faculty of IIT, IISc, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), DBT, CSIR, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutions.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)