Madhya Pradesh

• 20 Sep 2022

India's First Scientist Memorial to Come Up in Madhya Pradesh

Why In News?

• On September 19, 2022, in the 61st meeting of the Working Committee of the Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, it was decided that the country's first Scientist Memorial would be established in the ancient city of Ujjain, a pioneer in the spread of science.

Key Points

• Presiding over the 61st meeting of the Working Committee, Science and Technology Minister Omprakash Sakhlecha said that the state's science and technology policy would be announced soon and focussed on construction of Science City and Regional Science Center at divisional level while promoting science tourism.
• The Director General of the Council said that there are science memorials in the country, but this is the first case of building a scientist memorial in Ujjain's planetarium. Such a proposal has come up in a competition of young scientists. The Council has agreed to start work on the proposal immediately.
• Similarly, development of science tourism to promote science and technology was also discussed. During the approval of the works of Regional Science Center to be built in Jabalpur and Ujjain, it has been decided that every 300 km. But science centers and regional science centers will be built at the division level.
• It was decided in the meeting that arrangements should be made for drone training in all the districts of the state and instead of the same training in all the districts, training of different techniques of drones should be given. Initially, Rs 10 lakh each has been provided to the districts of the state for drone training.
• Minister Sakhlecha reviewed the action plan to create digital atlases of districts and directed that important products and projects of the district should be included in the atlas of Madhya Pradesh. With this, anyone from the world can know where the product is available. He also instructed to take the cooperation of science students of the college in this work and reward them for encouraging them.
• Minister Sakhlecha said that an advisory board of 15 to 20 renowned scientists and experts of the country should also be formed. This board will share research and technology-based knowledge every two months, which will help in spreading science activities in the state. He said that seminars and webinars should be held twice a month to ensure the benefits of science and technology to young and new entrepreneurs.
• It was decided in the committee that the technique of making fiber from bamboo, banana and coconut will be worked out. In place of traditional furniture, scientific and technology-based changes will be brought in furniture production according to human needs. At the same time, the council will also work on preparing a health database, so that the expenditure on health insurance can be reduced by 50 percent.
• The Council approved the proposal to increase the junior and senior level research fellowships given to young scientists every year. It has been increased by 5 and 10 thousand rupees respectively.
• In the Working Committee, a proposal was agreed to constantly apprise all departments and ministers about various new dimensions of science and technology. It was also decided that separate modules should be made in view of the structure of all the departments.
• In the meeting, the proposal to increase the fellowship of the project staff working in the Council was approved. It was also decided to develop and produce science films at division and district level as well as to make science film festivals.