Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India

Scientific Secretary at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, today participated in a panel discussion on Strategic Initiatives for Advancing Women in Scientific Leadership as part of the InSciLead Gender Inclusive Science, Access & Leadership Dialogue. The event was organized by WomenLift Health, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative - DNDi, and the Public Health Foundation of India. In her remarks, Dr. Maini underscored the importance of gender diversity in fostering a diversity of thoughts, experiences, and disciplines, drawing on both research studies and anecdotal evidence. She highlighted key initiatives led by the Office of the PSA, such as the National One Health Mission and the One Nation One Subscription initiative, as examples of programs that have benefitted immensely from interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary thinking supported by diverse leadership. Dr. Maini also emphasized the need to develop evaluation indicators for women’s leadership in science that reflect India’s unique socio-cultural context and its intersection with gender. The panel also featured distinguished participants including Dr. Dr. Taruna Madan Gupta ( Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)), Ms. Anaita S. (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Dr. Dr Shirshendu Mukherjee (Wadhwani Foundation), and Prof. Shubha Tole (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai), Dr. Ayesha Chaudhary (WomenLift Health) moderated the panel discussion.

The Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, chaired a stakeholder meeting today to deliberate and discuss the way forward with MANAS, a scalable digital solution for mental wellbeing supported by the Office of PSA. The meeting was joined by Dr V.K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog Official; Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA; Dr Madhuri Kanitkar, Vice Chancellor, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences ; Mr. Saurabh Jain, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), India; S D Sudarsan, Ph.D., Executive Director, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) Bengaluru; and Dr. Tarun Uppal, Director - Cybersecurity, Ministry Of Home Affairs (mha), GOI. Project teams from C-DAC Bangalore, NIMHANS, Bangalore and Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune were also present. In his address, Prof. Sood highlighted the digital resource gap and dearth of indigenous digital tools in the realm of mental wellness and therefore the emergent need to explore possible synergies for integration and dissemination of MANAS for delivery of services. Dr Parvinder Maini emphasised on the scope and potential of MANAS as an intervention for mental health and how various stakeholders can come together to create an end-to-end efficient ecosystem for delivery of mental health services. Representatives from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provided inputs on their existing interventions and platforms under their mental health programme, while representatives from Ministry of Home Affairs emphasized on the severe mental trauma faced by women and children who have been victims of cyber-crime and therefore the need to have interventions at various levels through their scheme on Cyber-Crime Prevention against Women and Children. Representatives from C-DAC Bangalore, NIMHANS Bangalore and AFMC, Pune presented the major milestones achieved in the development of MANAS. The meeting delved into insights for potential integration and convergence between stakeholders. The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to collaboratively develop a roadmap for possible integration and dissemination through MANAS for providing mental health services. Hafsa Ahmad Dibojit Pathak

Anusandhan National Research Foundation (#ANRF) has announced the launch of the Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (PAIR) Program. The Stakeholders’ Meeting for the PAIR Program will be held on November 29, 2024 at the Leaders Lounge of Bharat Mandapam. The program, launched following the first Governing Board Meeting of ANRF chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, as the Member Secretary, adopts a hub-and-spoke model. It pairs universities where research is at a nascent stage with top-tier institutions in a mentorship mode to drive impactful, high-quality research. By leveraging the expertise of established institutions, the PAIR Program aims to stimulate innovation in emerging institutions, promote internationally competitive research, and foster collaborative networks. The initiative is designed to enhance research quality by providing access to advanced infrastructure and global best practices. For more information on eligibility, funding guidelines, and application deadlines, please visit: https://lnkd.in/g736EmpJ

Prof. Berrien Moore III, Director of National Weather Center and Dean of College of Atmospheric and Geographical Sciences at University of Oklahoma, and Prof. Thirumalai Venky Venkatesan, Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Research and Partnerships at University of Oklahoma and Jubilee Chair Professor of the Indian Academy of Sciences, called upon Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, and Scientific Secretary, Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, today to discuss potential research collaborations with Indian institutions in weather modelling and prediction systems. Divya Vashisht, PhD

Prof. Berrien Moore III, Director of National Weather Center and Dean of College of Atmospheric and Geographical Sciences at University of Oklahoma, and Prof. Thirumalai Venky Venkatesan, Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Research and Partnerships at University of Oklahoma and Jubilee Chair Professor of the Indian Academy of Sciences, called upon Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, and Scientific Secretary, Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, today to discuss potential research collaborations with Indian institutions in weather modelling and prediction systems. Divya Vashisht, PhD

Scientific Secretary at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, today participated as a Distinguished Guest in the inaugural session of a workshop to commemorate 30 years of operational Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and 150 years of India Meteorological Department (IMD), organised by National Centre For Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) in association with IMD. During her address, Dr Maini recalled, as one of the early scientists at NCMRWF, the pivotal role played by NWP models in providing accurate weather forecasts. She highlighted the collaboration with the US National Centers for Environmental Predictions (NCEP), National Weather Service and the UK Met Office in setting up a seamless NWP system in India. Despite the challenges of climate change and the rising expectations of the common man that have put tremendous pressure on national weather agencies to provide reliable predictions while facing competition from other forecast providers, Dr. Maini congratulated the entire meteorological community for delivery of increasingly more accurate forecasts including extreme weather events. Other dignitaries who participated in the event include Dr. M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences ; Dr. Michael Farrar, Director, NCEP; and Dr. David Walters, Associate Director, UK Met Office; and Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology, IMD.

Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, delivered today the Keynote Address and felicitated the winners of the Women in STEM Excellence Awards Ceremony organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). During his address, Prof. Sood highlighted the transformative contributions of women in STEM fields throughout history and today. He emphasized the progress India has made in increasing women's participation in STEM education and careers while acknowledging the challenges of gender disparity that persist in advanced stages of STEM careers. He also brought out the need to look more carefully into the unconscious bias in gender parity issues. Prof. Sood outlined impactful initiatives led by the Office of PSA, such as scholarships like the Bayer Fellowship and Biocon Foundation programs through the Manthan platform, and mentorship initiatives that empower women from diverse backgrounds to excel in STEM. Other dignitaries who participated in the event include Dr. VK Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog Official; Dr Brajesh Pandey (Executive Director, INSA); Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Former Senior Adviser, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India; and Ms. Vaishali Nigam Sinha, Chairperson, CII Awards on Excellence for Women in STEM.

Youngsuk Chi, Chairman of Elsevier, called upon Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, and Scientific Secretary, Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, today to discuss potential collaborative efforts to support India's research landscape through the One Nation One Subscription (#ONOS) initiative. They also talked about ScopusAI developed by Elsevier - an AI-powered advanced version of Scopus to further accelerate research discovery. Remya Haridasan Saurabh Sharma Javed R

The Office of PSA extends hearty wishes on the World Science Day 2024

The India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies conducted an online workshop titled "Assessment and Monitoring Tools for Marine Plastic Litter" on November 8, 2024. The workshop brought together experts and policymakers from both India and the EU, aiming to explore digital tools for monitoring plastic waste and share practical solutions tailored to India's unique challenges.   Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and Ms. Signe Ratso, Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, delivered inaugural addresses. They underscored the importance of joint efforts in tackling plastic pollution through collaborative research, technology, and expertise sharing. Dr. Parvinder Maini emphasized the importance of collaboration, stating, "This partnership between India and the EU on plastic litter monitoring and reduction is not only timely but essential for developing solutions that are globally impactful and locally viable." Ms. Signe Ratso highlighted the workshop's significance, remarking, "it shows the excellent cooperation between the EU and India in sharing technological innovations and discussing matters of common interest in the framework of the recently established Trade and Technology Council." Prof. H N Chanakya from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore provided an overview of India’s plastic pollution challenges, followed by a presentation from The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)'s Prof. Bert van Bavel and Dr. Oda Ellingsen on their e-learning tool for monitoring plastic litter, which includes three modules tailored for different regional contexts. Indian experts, including Dr. Smita mohanty, Senior Principal Scientist at Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET), Bhubaneswar; Prof. E.V. Ramasamy, Former Professor, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala; Dr. K. Ramu, Scientist F at the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Ministry of Earth Sciences; and Dr Mahua Saha Scientist, CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography, presented their work in the area of marine plastic litter and shared valuable feedback, highlighting the need for contextual adaptation of the tool. An interactive panel discussion explored future collaborations, joint research, and capacity-building initiatives, while a questionnaire gathered participants' feedback on the tool for further improvements. The workshop concluded with the announcement of an upcoming Ideathon initiative aimed at fostering innovation and further strengthen India-EU cooperation in addressing plastic pollution. Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/g5SZNe_H Dr. M. Mohanty, FNAAS Hafsa Ahmad Dibojit Pathak