• India
  • Nov 30
  • Mathew Gregory

Draft STIP set to be finalised

A power-packed Apex Committee meeting of the new Science, Technology & Innovation Policy STIP 2020 discussed various suggestions for the upcoming policy that will pave the way towards a knowledge-based economy.

It is a milestone moment for Indian science, technology and innovation ecosystem as the formulation of 5th national Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020) is in full swing. 

Objective

STIP 2020, India’s fifth National Policy for Science, Technology, and Innovation,

    • Aims to capture the aspirations of the entire nation through a decentralized, bottom-up, and inclusive approach.

    • From open science to funding priorities; critical human capital to equity and inclusion; strategic technologies to traditional knowledge systems; science diplomacy to science communication – this policy promises a renewed STI ecosystem for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

    • STIP 2020 is being formulated at a crucial juncture when India and the world are tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. As the crisis has set the ‘new normal’, the policy aims to reorient STI in terms of priorities, sectoral focus and strategies.

    • It aims to realign priorities, sectoral focus and methods of research and technology development with the goals of larger socio-economic progress. 

Background

The formulation of the new policy is initiated jointly by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (Office of PSA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). This is only the fifth such policy for India that follows

    1. The Science Policy Resolution 1958 which aimed to “foster, promote and sustain” the “cultivation of science and scientific research in all its aspects”

    2. The Technology Policy Statement 1983 which emphasized the need to attain technological competence and self-reliance, with the objective to “integrate programmes of socio-economic sectors with the national R&D system and the creation of a national innovation system”

    3. The Science and Technology Policy 2003 which brought the benefits of Science and Technology to the forefront and also focused on the investment required for research and development along with the national innovation system.

    4. The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013 which focused on the large demographic dividend and set the paradigm “Science technology and innovation for the people.”

    5. The new policy STIP 2020 revolves around the core principles of being decentralized, evidence-informed, bottom-up, experts-driven and inclusive.

Policy Process

A participative model with four interconnected tracks has been envisioned to formulate the STIP 2020. The consultation processes on different tracks have already started and are running in parallel.

    1. Track – I Extended public and expert consultation

        a. Aims to capture the aspirations of a larger set of stakeholders and create a repository of public voices that will act as a guiding force for the drafting process.

        b. There are six unique activities under this track, designed carefully keeping the limitations (access, reach, digital services, language barriers and last-mile connectivity) of different stakeholder groups in mind.

    2. Track II – 21 Thematic Groups

        a. It comprises experts-driven thematic consultations to feed evidence-informed recommendations into the policy drafting process.

        b. Twenty-one (21) focused thematic groups have been constituted for this purpose. 

    3. Track III Ministerial and state consultation 

        a. Track III involves consultations with Ministries and States for which nodal officers are being nominated in States and in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government of India for extensive intra-state and intra-department consultation.

        b. The ministerial consultation process will take key policy recommendations from different ministries and incorporate them into a form that can lead to the creation of a broader STI policy governance and robust STI data architecture.

    4. Track IV Apex Level Multi-Stakeholder Engagement

        a. This track is the binding force that draws upon the apex-level multi-stakeholder engagement at the national as well as global levels.

        b. This track is ex-officio in nature, involving representatives from governments, academia, industry and civil society organizations.

        c. The Track-IV apex-level consultations have focused deliberations planned with 

            i. young scientists and technologists,

            ii. civil society organizations with special focus on farmers,

            iii. scientific ministries, departments and agencies,

            iv. socio-economic ministries and department,

            v. state governments, and (vi) global partners

After incorporating all the inputs, post Draft Version 1 (D.V.1) will then be taken for larger public, expert, and apex-level multi stakeholder consultations.  After incorporating the feedback and necessary changes, the final draft (D.V.3) will then be taken for cabinet and higher-level approvals.

The STIP 2020 Secretariat has been established jointly by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to coordinate and execute the entire STIP 2020 policy-making process.

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

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