11th STIP Forum Lecture "Pulse Revolution for Addressing Protein Malnutrition" | 7th August, IHC New Delhi

Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) Forum Lecture Series

We request your gracious presence at the Eleventh STIP Forum Lecture on

"Pulse Revolution for Addressing Protein Malnutrition"

by

Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra

Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education & Director General, ICAR

Chair: Dr. Rajendra Singh Paroda [Former DG, ICAR and Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Science (TAAS)]

Date: 7 August 2018 (Tuesday), Time: 7:00 pm

Venue: Casuarina Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi (Entry from Gate No. 3)

About the Speaker: Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra joined as Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research & Education and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on February 22, 2016. Prior to this Dr. Mohapatra was holding the position of Director-cum-Vice Chancellor of the prestigious Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Earlier on he worked as the Director of National Rice Research Institute (formerly CRRI), Cuttack. He served National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, IARI, New Delhi as researcher and teacher for about 20 years. He is a scientist of global repute working in the area of molecular genetics and genomics. Dr. Mohapatra has over 145 research papers in national and international journals of repute and several book chapters. His research accomplishments include development of the first high yielding Basmati rice variety resistant to bacterial leaf blight through molecular marker assisted selection, and physical mapping and genome sequencing of rice and tomato. He has the distinction of receiving several honours and awards in recognition of his research contributions including the INSA Young Scientist Award, Prof. LSS Kumar Memorial Award, NAAS-Tata Award, IARI BP Pal Award, DBT Bio-science Award and NASI-Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences-India, Allahabad and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi. 

About the Chair: Dr. Rajendra Singh Paroda is an agricultural scientist and currently serving as Chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS). He is a former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India. He was General President of the Indian Science Congress Association during 2000-2001 and was the President of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) from 1998-2000. He was elected as the first Chairman of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), FAO, Rome from 1998-2001. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1998.

About  STIP Forum: The Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) Forum has been set up with the objective of promoting debate on various aspects of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy. The Forum would go beyond the disciplinary boundaries by taking into account the intersectionality of S&T and I. It aims to will also bridge the gap between the science and society for dissemination of scientific achievements as well as for generalising debate of societal aspirations and promoting responsible research and innovations. The monthly lecture series of public lectures has been launched to sensitize the public discourse on science, technology and innovation policy. Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA), Vigyan Prasar and India Habitat Centre (IHC) are the collaborating institutions.

RSVP: Dr. Manish Anand, Tel: 011-24682100, e-mail: manand@teri.res.in

New Book | Bridging the Communication Gap in Science and Technology: Lessons from India

Bridging the Communication Gap in Science and Technology: Lessons from India
edited by Pallava Bagla & V.V. Binoy, Springer Verlag, Singapore, 2017, 324 pages, ISBN 9789811010255. 

About the Book

This first-of-a-kind volume provides a snapshot of existing science communication policy and practice in India across different S&T sectors, and offers solutions to building effective communication. It provides an understanding on how to avoid societal clashes in situations when science meets the public in these sectors. The editors and contributors argue that effective S&T communication leads not only to a more informed public but also benefits research itself, and in a changing society like India this is a crucial element related to good governance and policy making. In this volume, experienced masters of the craft provide practical solutions to making S&T communication more effective in a vast democracy like India, which has complex issues related to literacy levels, diverse languages, varying political will, reach, and resources. Through, discussions on cases of creating information modules for the public on the Internet, television and radio, social media, as well as traditional ways of outreach like people's science movements, holding popular science events, and fairs, the volume provides highly valuable directions on how developing countries with low resources and complex populations can communicate S&T research to the public and bridge communication gaps. This volume will interest researchers from science, social science, mass communication and public relations departments, journalists, as well as practitioners and policy makers from government and non-government institutions involved in S&T policy, practice and communication and people who want to understand the complex S&T landscape of India.

Table of Contents (21 chapters)

• Introduction: When Science Meets the Public—Bridging the Gap | VV Binoy
  
• Responsibilities of Science, Responsive to Society: A New Dialogue | Ramesh, Jairam
  
• India's Maiden Mission to Mars: Many Firsts and Some Missed Opportunities in ISRO's Efforts at Public Outreach and Communications | Pallava Bagla
  
• Challenges in Communicating about Defence Research: Insight into Defence Research and Development Organisation's Media Strategy | Gupta, Ravi Kumar
  
• Communicating Issues Related to Land and Natural Resources | Meenakshisundaram, S. S.
  
• The Art and Science of Communicating Risks of Natural Hazards | Tyagi, Ajit
  
• The Challenges of Earthquake Risk Communication to Public | Chadha, R. K.
  
• The Queer Case of Communicating Risks Associated with Use of Mobile Phones and Neighborhood Mobile Towers: Are People Contracting More Brain Cancers? | Parthasarathy, K. S.
  
• Atomic Energy: Reaching Out to the People for Perception Management | Malhotra, Swapnesh Kumar
  
• Current Status of Public Understanding of Science: Results of Kumbh Mela Survey Studies | Raza, Gauhar (et al.)
  
• Communicating Science for a Better Tomorrow | Khan, Hasan Jawaid
  
• Challenges of Communicating Science in Regional Languages: Experiments in Kannada | Sharma, A. S. K. V. S.
  
• Challenges Faced by Science Journalists and Communicators Working in Vernacular Languages and Insights Pertaining to Science Communication Courses | Kapoor, Nimish
  
• Enhancing Science Content on Indian Television: Status, Issues and Way Forward | Venkateswaran, T. V.
  
• SCIDEV.NET: Advent of Online Science Journalism in India | Padma, T. V.
  
• Smart Websites: Insights from the Department of Biotechnology | Bhatta, Archita
  
• Using Social Media for Research and Reaching Out | Sekar, Sandhya (et al.)
  
• Vigyan Rail: Science Exhibition on Wheels | Kamble, Vinay B.
  
• Organising Children's Science Congress: Challenges and Opportunities | Sinha, Anuj
  
• Bridging Educational Institutions for a Citizen Science Project: A Case Study from Malappuram District, Kerala, India | VV Binoy (et al.)
  
• Communicating Science to the Common: Perspectives of the Science Communicators from India | Balasubramanian, D. (et al.)
  

Further Details

New Report "Artificial Intelligence and Human Development: Toward a Research Agenda"

Artificial Intelligence and Human Development: Toward a Research Agenda

by Matthew Smith, & Sujaya Neupane, International Development Research Center, Canada, 2018.

Abstract: Like most new technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to exacerbate existing problems, reinforce structural inequalities, and superimpose biases. This paper proposes a proactive research agenda for the ethical and equitable application of AI in the Global South, drawn from a broad overview of technologies associated with AI capabilities, and the opportunities and challenges they present. Three areas are identified in which action can be taken: policies and regulations; inclusive and ethical AI applications; and infrastructure and skills. Within each area, the paper makes recommendations for research necessary to make concrete progress.

Download Full-text PDF

See Also:

Discussion Paper on National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, by NITI Aayog, New Delhi, 2018. 

Statement on behalf of Inter Academy Panel on Ethics in Science

Statement on behalf of Inter Academy Panel on Ethics in Science 

(This panel is constituted jointly by three science academies, namely, Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Sciences, India)

When we became an independent republic, our founding fathers adopted the Constitution of India which demands that its citizens abide by and uphold reason and scientific temper. Scientific temper encompasses rationality, rights and responsibility in equal measure.

It crystallizes what Tagore wanted India to be, namely, a nation

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action,

Into that heaven of freedom;

let my country awake.

Yet, we note with sadness and growing anxiety several of statements and actions which run counter to this constitutional requirement of every citizen of India. It is important that exemplary punishment be given to such trespassers of reason and rights. We also appeal to all sections of Indian society to raise their voices against such violated acts, so that they are nipped in the bud.

Source: INSA Website [http://www.insaindia.res.in/scroll_news_pdf/Statement.pdf]

Call for Indo-Japanese Joint Project on "Establishment of Young Researcher Fellowship Programme 2018-19" | INSA-JSPS Fellowship

Call for Indo-Japanese Joint Project on "Establishment of Young Researcher Fellowship Programme 2018-19" 

INSA-JSPS Fellowship

Further Details

Vacancies at Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), New Delhi

Further Details: http://fitt-iitd.in/career/

CfPs: 2nd Annual Conference of the India Public Policy Network (IPPN)| 4-6 February, Delhi

2nd Annual Conference of the India Public Policy Network (IPPN)

4-6 February 2019 | Delhi, India

Call for Papers

The India Public Policy Network (IPPN), an affiliate of the Asia Pacific Public Policy Network (AP-PPN), will be hosting the 2019 Conference at the Conference Centre, University of Delhi, India, on February 4-6, 2019 The aim of this workshop is to bring together scholars of Public Policy, Public Administration and Public Management from universities and development sectors in India to present their work and engage in discussions on public policy issues. The forum will offer ample opportunities to build networks for future collaborative research.

Politics and Public Policy is the theme of the conference. We invite papers exploring the links between the policy sciences and science of politics and how politics shapes, and is shaped by, public policy. Theoretical and empirical papers shedding light on the opportunities and constraints of different political mechanisms and institutional arrangements, and social and economic contexts shaping public policy are welcome. 

The IPPN Conference 2019 invites three categories of proposals for papers on politics and public policy. (1) Thematic Panels, (2) Special Panel on the Capacity for Sustaining Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), and (3) Individual papers on any aspect of politics and public policy.

Proposals for thematic panels must be accompanied by a 300 words description of the theme, in addition to tentative list of at least 5 papers including authors' names, institutional affiliation, short bio and contact details. Proposals for SBM(G) or individual papers should include 300 words abstracts as well as authors' name, institutional affiliation, short bio and contact details.

Please send abstracts to: indiapublicpolicynetwork2019@gmail.com by 15th September, 2018. Acceptance decisions will be conveyed by 30th September, 2018. 

Convenor: Professor Satyajit Singh, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India. Email: ssinghdu@gmail.com

Further Details