New Delhi: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in New Delhi today for promoting research in premier technical institutions through the IMPRINT programme by 25 ministries and departments of Government of India including the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Union HRD Minister Smriti Z Irani presided over the function.
IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT) is a flagship national initiative of the government, which was launched on 5 November 2014. It is a multi-disciplinary, multi-partner and multi-goal oriented national programme aimed at technology development covering all engineering disciplines, steered by all IITs and IISc.
IMPRINT aims to synergize with all the major initiatives of the Government of India like Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Namami Gange, Skill India, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, Swachch Bharat Mission etc. Other ministries are engaged in research, covering these domains, and there is a need to converge the efforts to avoid duplication of efforts.
For achieving this synergy, in a meeting held on 14 December 2015 on implementation of IMPRINT, it was decided to sign a formal MoU among all participating ministries and departments for achieving coordination, prioritization and synergy among all the schemes,projects and programs to ensure alignment between the programs and avoid overlapping, leading to successful, effective and efficient implementation of such development programs of Government of India.
The MHRD will be responsible for the following: Laying down the policy for implementation, coordination with the other departments, resolving the difficulties in implementation and meeting 50% of the project cost. The other departments and ministries will be responsible for defining the requirements of research for inclusion in the IMPRINT programme; participating in the apex committee meetings for selection of the projects ; and to review the progress of the projects from time to time as a part of the apex committee.
On the occasion of signing of the MoU, Irani said that earlier the research work was done in piecemeal and there was no sustainability in the technology related work as it was totally dependent on the funds released by the ministry. She said that it was for the first time in the history of our country that all IITs have come together as a family and have undertaken this unique initiative of IMPRINT wherein they have taken upon themselves to carry the technological innovations at the doorstep of the ordinary citizen and also use it for the welfare of mankind.
Other ministers present on the occasion Minister of Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Steel and Mines Vishnu Deo Sai and Minister of State for Rural Development Sudarshan Bhagat assured their full cooperation and support in taking forward the research work under 10 technology domains as envisaged under IMPRINT to achieve overall development of the country.
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