Industry link key to keeping startups sustainable, says Union minister Jitendra Singh

He was speaking at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) on the last day of his two-day visit to the city. On the occasion, he inaugurated the Bisphenol-A pilot plant which is expected to give impetus to the production of engineering plastics.

The Union government launched the Startup India movement in 2015 and the policy for the same was drafted and released in 2016.

“From the time when very few knew about it, the startup ecosystem in India has now matured. In six years, there are over 75,000 startups in the country. There are even startups, some 60 in number, working on developing technology for India’s space sector, which was one of the most forbidden sectors of Indian science until recently,” said Dr Singh.

This ecosystem, Dr Singh, who is also the vice-president of the CSIR, said now needs to be made sustainable for which the academia and research institutions need to partner and link each stage with the industry.

He nudged the scientific community for their unchanged mindset and reservation towards the startup culture. “The mindset of the scientists at CSIR and the stakeholders has not changed, which is still as like doing a ‘government job’,” Singh said.

Pune being Maharashtra’s cultural capital, Dr Singh urged the NCL to take lead and open its doors to visitors and showcase its research. “The NCL is doing good research, why not lead other labs by opening doors for tourists and visitors?” he said.

According to Ashish Lele, director of the CSIR, the 2020-2030 decade is crucial for the world given then serious problems like energy and climate change staring at humanity.

“2020-2030 will be an important decade to link industry and startups in order to make science and technology viable. The world has limited time and needs to act with agility and align itself to address these problems,” said Lele, who enlisted some of the NCL’s futuristic projects, including green hydrogen, fuel cell and its plans toward creating a circular economy.

Dr Singh interacted with young researchers and faculty at the NCL on the occasion.

“One of the best fillips for science and technology will come when it is linked with our livelihoods. We are in the integrated phase of working wherein the role of the industry will be bigger for keeping the startups sustainable,” Dr Singh said.