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The Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) is the chief advisor to the Government of India on matters related to scientific policy.[1] It is currently a Cabinet Secretary level position created in 1999 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.[2] The first appointed Principal Scientific Adviser was A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[3] This was followed by Rajagopala Chidambaram who held the rank of a Minister of State and was the PSA for 16 years.[4] The current PSA is Ajay Kumar Sood.[5]
The 'Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser', through the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) helps scientific cross-sectoral synergy across ministries, institutions, and the industry.[6]
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There have been a total of four PSAs so far:
| No. | Portrait | Principal Scientific Adviser | Took office | Left office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (15 October 1931–27 July 2015) | 1999 | 2002 | ||
| 2 | Rajagopala Chidambaram (born 12 November 1936) | 2002 | 2018 | ||
| 3 | K. VijayRaghavan (born 3 February 1954) | April 2018 | April 2022 | ||
| 4 | Ajay K. Sood (born 26 June 1951) | April 2022 | Incumbent | [7] |
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The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India advises the government in science and technology policies and interventions that are of strategic socio-economic importance to the country. This is done in collaboration with various ministries, institutions, academia, and industry. The PM-STIAC is one of the catalysts for such tasks and also oversees the implementation of the tasks.[8]
Nine National Missions
On 6 March 2019, the PSA announced nine new science and technology missions with a focus on 'Science for People and People for Science':[9][10]
- Natural Language Translation
- Quantum Frontier
- Artificial Intelligence
- National Biodiversity Mission
- Electric Vehicles
- Bio-science for Human Health
- Waste to Wealth
- Deep Ocean Exploration
- Accelerating Growth of New India's Innovations (AGNIi)
Other major projects include Research Clusters, Earth Museum, Brahmaputra River System, I-STEM Facilities Map, and Energy Security.[11]
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The Council allows the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to ascertain the status, challenges and interventions needed in the science and technology domain so as to advise the PM is as best a manner as possible.[12] The PM's STIAC increases the collaboration and focus needed to answer complex problems in appropriate time periods.[13] One of the ways this is done is through various missions.[13]
Members
Members include:[11]
- V. K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog & former Chairman, DRDO
- A. S. Kiran Kumar, former Chairman, ISRO
- Ajay Kumar Sood, Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
- Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar, Dean, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune
- Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
- Manjul Bhargava, Professor, Princeton University, USA
- Subhash Kak, Professor, Oklahoma State University, USA
- Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge, Pune
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