Lok Sabha Question No. 4204 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Research and Professional Programmes
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Shashank Mani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4204 ANSWERED ON 26/03/2025

## RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMES

## 4204. SHRI SHASHANK MANI:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  undertaken  initiatives  to  develop  an inclusive society and empower various sections of society through Science and Technology (S&T) interventions, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has implemented steps to develop research and professional programs aimed at supporting marginalized and backward classes; and
- (c) if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  efforts  to  provide  high  levels  of education and skilled employment opportunities?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी तथा पृ थ्िी विज्ञान मंत्रालय क े राज्य मंत्री ( स्ितंत्र प्रभार)

(डॉ. जितेंद्र स ंह)

- (a) Ministry of Science and Technology, through Department of Science and Technology  (DST),  Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT)  and  Department  of Scientific  &  Industrial  Research  (DSIR)/Council  of  Scientific  &  Industrial Research (CSIR), has undertaken several initiatives to develop an inclusive society  and  empower  various  sections  of  society  through  Science  and Technology (S&T) interventions. The initiatives promote inclusivity and equity by  encouraging  access  to  appropriate  S&T  solutions,  emphasizing  skill development, capacity building, community engagement, and collaboration with various stakeholders to improve the socio-economic empowerment of marginalized/  weaker  sections,  women,  disadvantaged  and  various  other sections of the society.

Department  of  Science  and  Technology  (DST)  has  implemented  various schemes & programmes to constantly endeavor societal  development  and empowerment by infusing S&T based interventions. These initiatives focus on delivering location specific, science-led solutions, emerging and appropriate technologies for sustainable livelihoods, establishing research & development

(R&D)  facilities  with  sophisticated  instruments,  skill  development,  training and capacity building to enable an inclusive society, primarily Youth, Women, Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST), Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Divyangjan, elderly, and other marginalized and backward communities.

Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT),  through  its  Fellowship,  Teaching  and Societal Development programmes, emphasizes creating income & employment  generation  avenues,  dissemination  of  field-tested  and  proven biotechnological  innovation  and  technologies  developed  by  government autonomous institutions, national laboratories, universities, scientific research  institutes  etc.  for  immediate  benefit  of  the  community  such  as women, SC, ST population, rural population and marginalized sections of the society, especially farmers and unemployed youth in aspirational districts and rural areas.

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), through Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), is utilizing the knowledgebase and technologies available across CSIR institutes to empower different strata of society, particularly addressing rural challenges through various projects with deployment of relevant CSIR technologies/innovations/interventions for augmenting the income and improving the quality of lives in villages. This contributes  to  developing  an  inclusive  society  and  empowering  various societal groups through Science and Technology (S&T) interventions.

In addition, several other ministries, including the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Ministry of Education;  Ministry  of  Housing  and  Urban  Affairs;  Ministry  of  Labour  & Employment; Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Food Processing Industries; and the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers'  Welfare,  have  also  implemented programs to empower various sections of society.

- (b) to (c): The Government has implemented various steps to develop research  and  professional  programs  aimed  at  supporting  marginalized  and backward classes. These programs and training initiatives have empowered participants from diverse backgrounds by equipping them with the essential skills in their respective fields. As a result, they have contributed to building a skilled workforce and promoting inclusive development across the country. Details of the major research and professional programs being implemented under DST, DBT and DSIR/CSIR, and various other Ministries and Departments are as follows-
1. Department of Science and Technology (DST)
- a. Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) supported around 500 S&T projects during the last two decades in different states in diverse areas of agriculture, resource management, microenterprise development, art & craft, post-harvest technologies, health and

nutrition, engineering and allied aspects, training and skill development, drinking water and sanitation, and energy to improve the quality of life of  SC/ST  communities.  In  addition,  following  activities  are  being performed to achieve the desired objectives:

-  Around 52 Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Hubs have been established  for  SC  &  ST  Communities  to  nurture  and  ensure  the development, improvement and delivery of appropriate and relevant STI approaches for their equitable inclusive growth through creation of sustainable livelihoods and improving the quality of life in tune to their growing aspirations;
-  The programme on 'Accelerated Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)' complements the National PVTG Mission announced by Union Government in March 2023 by developing sustainable STI solutions to addresses the vulnerabilities faced by the 75 PVT Groups;
-  Around  11  SC/ST  Cells  are  being  supported  in  different  States  for mapping  (gathering)  information  on  livelihood  system  (weakest linkages and strengths), local & indigenous knowledge and ingesting it with technological information to help in development of specific strategies, technology  dissemination  and  last  mile  delivery of interventions  to  target  beneficiaries  for  defining  implementation policies;
- b. Science & Technology for Women (STW) programme through its Women Technology  Parks  (WTP)  aim  to  improve  the  weakest  link  of  the predominant livelihood system of women in an area and promote social entrepreneurship and women employment based on the strongest link of the livelihood system through interventions of Science, Technology and Innovations. Around 40 WTPs have been established and 150 projects have  been  supported  to  develop  technologies  for  the  addressing  the issues related to women.
- c. Strengthening, Upscaling & Nurturing Innovations for Livelihood (SUNIL) programme supports collaborative projects from NGOs and Knowledge Institutions (KIs) for improving the S&T knowledge, skill enhancement, capacity  building  and  socio-economic  conditions  of  the  community through network programmes. Around 8 projects have been supported for  S&T based solutions through applied research for socio-economic development  of  Economically  Weaker  Section  (EWS)  and  capacity building of Community based Organizations (CBOs) & NGOs. Around 8 such projects have been supported during the year 2024.
- d. Inspire Awards-MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge) has awarded around 21,087 ST students during last 5 years for promoting 'Original ideas' having potential to address societal needs through Science & Technology especially in context of National flagship Programs such as Swachh Bharat, Digital India, Swasth Bharat,

- Make  in  India,  Energy,  Environment,  Sanitation  etc.  An  award  of  Rs. 10,000/- is being provided to each beneficiary.
- e. R&D Infrastructure hands-on training programmes cum sensitization on the state-of-the-art equipment, use and application of various instruments  and  analytical  techniques  and  benefitted  around  10000 tribal  researchers  &  students  through  Synergistic  Training  program Utilizing the Scientific and Technological Infrastructure (STUTI) programme,  Fund  for  Improvement  of  S&T  Infrastructure  (FIST)  and Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes (SATHI) centres. To date, nearly 8573 researchers from various educational background and subject areas have been trained and in addition 11,441 school students attended the 132 awareness programs related to many state- of- the- art instruments and technologies and established 15 Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facilities (SAIF) in different parts of the country.
- f. National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical System (NM-ICPS) established about 30 labs/experience centres to provide students with opportunities for continuous learning and hands-on practice. Divyasampark  IHUB  Roorkee  trained  17,409  students  under  the  TSP Program  for  Devices  Materials  and  Technology  Foundation.  Approx. 46,974 number of beneficiaries trained under skill development programme of Inter Cyber Physical Systems. The Drone Didi Workshop, organized under the 'Digital Agri Village' project at IIT Bhilai, showcased the innovative use of drones in precision agriculture.
- g. Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) through Inclusivity Research Grant (IRG), erstwhile EMEQ Scheme provided funding support to  around  125  researchers  every  year  belonging  to  the  Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe to undertake research in frontier areas of science and engineering.
- h. National Quantum Mission (NQM) encourages SC, ST, marginalized and backward classes from all states and districts, to participate and benefit from the Mission's programs through established four Thematic Hubs (THubs) (Quantum Computing at IISc. Bengaluru; Quantum Communication at IIT Madras in association with C-DOT, New Delhi; Quantum Sensing & Metrology at IIT Bombay; and Quantum Materials & Devices at IIT Delhi).
- i. National Innovation Foundation (NIF) under its dissemination and social diffusion efforts, introduced livelihood generating innovations to remotest  locations  in  the  country  like  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  North Eastern States, Andaman and Nicobar Islands amongst others. NIF has till  date  recognised  1145  Grassroots  innovators;  implemented  its technologies in few Correctional Homes and provided risk capital to 238 innovation-based enterprise projects between 2003-18 with support from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) under Micro Venture Innovation  Fund  (MVIF).  Around  71  community  workshops  have  been established in 24 states of the country to provide access of scientific/ technological tools to the people in rural areas.

- j. National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) Inclusive  Technology  Business  Incubators  (iTBIs) centers  provide financial support, mentorship, and access to resources that empowers startups, entrepreneurs and individuals from marginalized backgrounds especially SC/ST to transform their innovative ideas into viable businesses and established 48 NIDHI iTBI centers and startups in Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities to provide innovative solutions addressing local problems having  significant  societal  impact  on  the  nearby  regions,  including marginalized communities. Additionally, under Innovation and Entrepreneurship  (I&E)  based  training  programmes,  around  23498 beneficiaries have been trained through 317 organizations in different parts of the country during last 5 years.
- k. North  East  Centre  for  Technology  Application  and  Reach  (NECTAR) provides special outreach programs to ensure that students from rural and  tribal  communities  have  access  to  quality  STEM  education  and facilitated  the  establishment  of  a  Music  School  for  Persons  with Disabilities (PwDs) in Shillong and trained individuals to seek employment as music teachers, performers, or studio artists, fostering financial self-reliance. A foundation course of 6 months in Computers and  Employability  for  Persons  with  Visual  Impairment.  In  addition, establishment of STEM Education Hub at NECTAR, Meghalaya serves as a  resource  centre,  offering  training  and  workshops  on  interactive experiments, coding workshops, robotics training, and AI applications for  students  and  teachers  from  various  schools  and  colleges  in Meghalaya.
- l. Science  and  Heritage  Research  Initiative  (SHRI)  Cell  initiated  Millet program to promote traditional food, preservation of recipes, scientific intervention for increased productivity, storage life, and post-processing of  millets,  generally  grown  and  consumed  in  tribal,  marginalized,  and backward  areas.  The  Millet  Program  supports  these  communities through  scientific  interventions  such  as  preserving  their  traditional knowledge,  clinically  validating  the  health  benefits,  providing  better cost-effective methods and technologies for production and storage of millets.
2. Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
- a. DBT  supports National level programs like DBT-Junior Research Fellowship  program  and  the  PG  Teaching  program  to  promote  higher education  in  the  country  in  order  to  facilitate  students  from  various backgrounds, including SC and other weaker sections.
- b. Under BIRAC, the Social Innovation Programme for Products Affordable &  Relevant  to  Societal  Health  (SPARSH)  supports  biotechnological interventions to address critical societal need of marginalized communities through SPARSH centers.
- c. Through  STAR  College  Programme,  the  support  was  extended  to colleges  in  remote  and  underprivileged  areas  under  Urban  and  Rural

- categories  since  2018-19.  During  this  period,  75  colleges  from  rural areas, 13 colleges from Aspirational Districts and 58 girl's colleges in
- rural and marginalized areas benefitted from this initiative.
- d. Biotech-Krishi Innovation Science Application Network (Biotech-KISAN) is  aimed  at  enhancing  coordination  between  farmers  and  research laboratories for exploring solutions to limitations in agricultural practices through deployment of advanced technologies. The programme also emphasizes on development of bio-based agrienterprises in rural areas based on affordable technologies.
3. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research/Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- a. CSIR Aroma Mission is catalysing Rural Empowerment through Cultivation,  Processing,  Value  Addition  and  Marketing  of  Aromatic Plants and initiated 'CSIR-Aroma Mission' in 2017. Since then, more than 43,600-hectare  land  has  been  brought  under  cultivation  of  aromatic crops  generating  employment  of  about  80  lakhs  rural  man-days,115 startups supporting new entrepreneurships.
-  CSIR enabled the famed Purple Revolution by introducing Lavender cultivation in 10 districts of J&K benefitting more than 1000 farming families  through  increasing  their  income  from  Rs.  20,000/-  to  Rs. 200,000/- per acre per year.
-  Atmanirbharata in Lemongrass essential oil with the implementation of CSIR Aroma Mission, India has become one of the largest exporters of lemongrass essential oil in the world with about 600 tonnes worth Rs.60 crores of lemongrass essential oil exported during 2021-22.
-  Golden  revolution  in  Himachal  Pradesh  has  become  the  highest producer of aromatic marigold essential oil in the country leading to the  production  of  8  tonnes  of  marigold  oil  (worth  Rs.  11.2  crore), which has enhanced the farmers' income 2.5 times over traditional crops (Rs. 50,000-60,000/ha/year).
- b. CSIR-Floriculture Mission initiated in 2020-21 utilizes the knowledgebase available in CSIR institutes to help Indian Floriculture farmers in income enhancement and entrepreneurship development. Its implementation  has  helped  to  bring  about  6603  acres  of  land  under cultivation in 244 districts covering 29 States and UTs benefiting about 18,692 floriculture farmers.
-  A  significant  achievement  is  the  indigenous  development  of  Tulip bulb production in Lahaul & Spiti that helped in reducing the import of planting materials.
-  For the domestication of indigenous wild ornamental plants, propagation techniques including Tissue Culture have been developed for 20 species that are collected from Western Himalaya, Eastern Himalaya, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Indo-Gangetic plains.

- In  collaboration with  the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Apiculture has been integrated with CSIR Floriculture Mission for  high  quality  Honey  production.  So  far  total  8,277  Bee  Boxes provided to the clusters developed by CSIR Labs benefiting around
-  8000 farmers.
- c. CSIR Seaweed  Mission aimed to "Generate the knowledge and innovations that would help make seaweed cultivation a new form of agriculture which is remunerative, eco-friendly, sustainable and expansive in scope".
-  CSIR  takes  pride  for  being  the  first  in  the  country  to  pioneer  the Kappaphycus alvarezii cultivation technology leading to commercial farming of the seaweeds in India.
-  More than 800 self-help groups (SHGs) in Tamil Nadu have adopted Kappaphycus cultivation as means of their livelihood.
-  The  Seaweed  research  has  resulted  in  the  development  of  a  new seaweed  industry  generating  additional  employment  opportunities and  revenue.  Seaweed  technologies  have  been  developed  and transferred to 12 companies for commercialization.
-  About 5000 fishermen were trained so-far under various schemes, especially in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh.
- d. CSIR  Integrated  Skill  Initiative  (Bridging  the  skill  gaps  in  Scientific Disciplines)  is  providing  skilling,  reskilling,  and  upskilling  training covering a wide spectrum of science and technology for undergraduates, postgraduates,  and  research  students,  including  participants  from marginalized and backward classes - SC/ST, differently-abled, minorities, and other vulnerable communities who seek employment opportunities. From  June-2019,  CSIR-UGC  NET,  the  provision  of  reservation  for appearing in CSIR-UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) to the candidates belonging  to  Economically  Weaker  Sections  (EWSs)  is  given  and provided relaxation in marks to the candidates belonging to OBC/SC/ST/PwD/Third gender category who have secured at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in Master's degree or equivalent examination are eligible whereas the candidates belonging to General/Unreserved category, eligibility criteria is  55%  marks.  A relaxation of upto 5 years is provided to the candidates belonging to OBC-NCL/SC/ST/PwD/Third gender categories and to women applicants.
4. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer's Welfare (MoAFW)

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under MoAFW played an important role in setting the academic  standards  in  agricultural education ecosystem and recently restructured the course curriculum of 13 agriculture and allied disciplines with focus on skill and entrepreneurship development for better employability as per National

Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020). Skill development is pursued through READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojna) programme which is designed to provide the desired Hands-on-Training (Skill  Development),  Rural  Awareness Work Experience (RAWE), Plant Training/ Industrial attachment/ Internship and projects to undergraduate students including marginalized and backward classes for their entrepreneurship development. About 900 Experiential Learning units in the Agricultural Universities (Aus) are providing training related to  skill  development  to  all  students  from  marginalized  and  backward classes  and  also  to  develop  their  entrepreneurial  skills  for  better employment. Total 60,802 number of students have attended training through RAWE during last three years.

## 5. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME)

MoMSME  through  Entrepreneurship  and  Skill  Development  Programs (ESDP) division motivates youth representing different sections of the society  including  SC/ST/Women,  differently  abled,  Ex-servicemen  and BPL persons to consider self-employment or entrepreneurship as one of the career options. The ultimate objective is to promote new enterprises, build capacity of existing MSMEs and inculcate entrepreneurial culture across the length and breadth of the country.

## 6. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE)

MoSJE  launched  Ambedkar  Social  Innovation  and  Incubation  Mission (ASIIM) to foster innovation among SC students, researchers, and those working in Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) and Atal Incubation Centers (AICs) for turning into commercial ventures in sectors like agritech, ed-tech, IT, environment, waste management, and green energy etc. Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE) has been implementing  Central  Sector  umbrella  scheme  of  'Scholarships  for Higher Education for Young Achievers (SHREYAS) for Scheduled Castes (SCs)'  for  Educational  and  Entrepreneurial  Empowerment  and  Intraperineurial  Leadership  of  Talented  students  from  Scheduled  Caste communities in 4 sub-Schemes such as Top Class Scholarship for SC students  (TCS)  scheme  which  supports  meritorious  SC  students  for pursuing higher studies beyond 12th class; Free Coaching for SCs, OBCs and beneficiaries of PM-cares children Scheme to enable them to appear in competitive examinations for obtaining appropriate jobs in Public/Private Sector and/or for securing admission in reputed technical and professional higher education Institution; National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) Scheme provides financial assistance to facilitate the low income meritorious students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Denotified  Nomadic  and  Semi-Nomadic  Tribes,  Landless  Agricultural Labourers and Traditional Artisans category to obtain higher education; National Fellowship for SC students (NFSC) scheme provides support to

## 7.

## 8.

## 9.

Scheduled  Caste  students  for  pursuing  higher  education;  Scheme  for Implementation  of  the  Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  Act,  2016 (SIPDA) supports study and research on priority areas of disability sector and R&D of suitable products, aids & appliances for empowerment of persons with disability (PwDs).

## Ministry of Education (MoE)

MoE  supported  Entrepreneurship  Development  Cell  and  Incubation Centre to promote the entrepreneurship skills among the marginalised and the backward classes in order to provide them with high levels of education  and  skilled  employment  possibilities.  NITs/IIEST  Shibpur initiated industry-driven programs aiming to train students in work skills them employment-ready. As a result, in the last few years, some of the top IT companies in India have started their own academia-industry interface

(from all sections of students including OBC) and make programs.

## Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)

MoHUA has implemented the 'Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NULM)'  from  February  2016  to  30th September,  2024  to  provide  Employment  through  Skill  Training  and Placement (EST&P) component to the urban poor as per the skill demand from the market, so that they can set up self-employment ventures or secure salaried employment. Skill training will be linked to accreditation and  certification  and  preferably  be  undertaken  on  a  Public-PrivatePartnership  (PPP)  mode.  It  involves  reputed  institutes,  including  ITIs, Polytechnics, NITs, industry associations, engineering colleges, management institutes, skill training centers, foundations, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and other reputed entities in government, private and civil society sectors.

## Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE)

Directorate General of Employment  is implementing  the  scheme "Welfare of SC/ST jobseekers" through the network of 25 National Career Service Centres (NCSC) for SC/STs across the country. The objective of the scheme is to enhance the employability of SC/ST jobseekers through Vocational  Guidance,  Career  Counselling,  Computer  Training,  Prerecruitment Training etc. Market driven Computer Course trainings are imparted  to  jobseekers  through  National  Institute  of  Electronics  and Information Technology (NIELIT) with a view to prepare them to meet the demands of the labour market. A Special Coaching programme is also run through local training institutions to prepare SC/ST jobseekers for the Group-C competitive examinations.

## 10. Ministry of Culture (MoC)

MoC through National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) popularize science  and  technology  in  cities,  urban  and  rural  areas  to  empower different strata of society (science teachers/students/young entrepreneurs/technicians/physically challenged/housewives) through its  chain  of  26  science  museums  and  science  centres  across  the country.  In  addition  to  organization  of  exhibitions,  seminars,  popular lectures, science camps, training programmes teachers, young entrepreneurs, physically challenged and also for benefit of students and common man in cities, urban and rural areas, NCSM conducts Mobile science exhibition, displaying interactive exhibits on various scientific themes to remote and aspirational districts for providing students with the latest development on Science & Technology. Science Centres under NCSM  also  organizes  programmes/visits  of  underprivileged  students regularly.

## 11.

## Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI)

MoFPI through National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and  Management  (NIFTEMs)  has  introduced  several  measures  to promote inclusive education and skill development among marginalized and backward communities such as Skill Development Training Programs for rural youth, women, and farmers to enhance their skills in food  processing,  value  addition,  and  food  safety;  Entrepreneurship Development Initiatives to assist small-scale entrepreneurs, including those  from  SC/ST  and  OBC  categories,  in  setting  up  food  processing units;  Reservation  in  the  Institution  to  ensure  accessibility  to  quality education to marginalized and backward communities; Scholarships for Underprivileged  Students  to  offer  financial  assistance  to  meritorious students  from  marginalized  communities  to  pursue  MTech,  and  Ph.D. programs.

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