National
8th India International Science Festival, IISF-2022
⇒ The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh jointly inaugurated India International Science Festival, IISF-2022 in Bhopal on 21 January 2023.
IISF is the initiative of the Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Science of Government of India in association with Vijnana Bharati which is a science movement with swadeshi spirit led by eminent scientists of the country.
About IISF 2022:
The India International Science Festival (IISF)-2022 was held on 21-24 January 2023 at the capital city of India’s Heart-Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. IISF-2022, the 8th in the series of such festivals, was organised at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) in the city of Lakes Bhopal.
Theme:
The India International Science Festival, IISF-2022 was organised on the theme of “Marching towards Amrit Kaal with Science Technology and Innovation”.
Organized by:
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoS&T), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Space (DoS), Government of India and Government of Madhya Pradesh jointly organised IISF 2022.
- The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology was the nodal coordinating department for organising IISF-2022. The nodal agency to organise the IISF 2022 was Regional Center for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad, Department of Biotechnology.
- The Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology (MPCOST) was the local partner and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) as Knowledge Partner for IISF 2022.
» About 5,000 invited delegates and 10,000 local visitors attended this Festival every day.
The 4-day science festival, IISF 2022 deliberated on 15 important events:
Artisan’s Technology Village – Vocal for Local
- Artisan’s Technology Village was aimed to develop a bridge by scientific intervention between the artisans and modern scientific approaches to discuss the enhancement of traditional cras to make them more persistent globally.
Face-to-Face with New Frontiers in Science
- “Face to Face with New Frontiers in Science” was an initiation of cordial interaction and short discussion-based sessions of students/researchers with people par excellence in various disciplines of Science & Technology (S&T).
Guinness Book of World Records
- Two Guinness Book of World Records attempts were conducted among the four activities of Agribot (solar), Home automation, Beehive honey extraction and Fibre to Fabric.
- IISF has achieved 14 Guinness World Records in its journey of last seven years.
International Science Film Festival of India
- The International Science Film Festival of India (ISFFI) promoted science popularisation among citizens.
- It was aimed to attract talented young science filmmakers and science enthusiasts. The ISFFI offered an opportunity for students and filmmakers to get involved with science communication through films.
Mega Science and Technology Exhibition 2022
- The ‘IISF Mega Science and Technology Exhibition 2022’ showcased India’s prideful achievements, advancements, and success stories in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
National Social Organizations and Institutions Meet (NSOIM)
- National Social Organizations and Institutions Meet (NSOIM) was a national platform for bringing together all the stakeholders of societal development through Science and Technologies that help in solving societal issues.
New Age Technologies Show
- The New Age technologies show was aimed to promote innovation in cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning, Cyber Security, Block Chain, Digital Currency Industry, 4.0, 5G/6G, Quantum Computing, Semiconductor Chip Design, Drone Technologies, Green Energies, Space Technologies, Sensor Technologies, Systems and Synthetic Biology.
Science through Games and Toys
- The program hosted sessions and workshops for students to motivate the development of mental concentration and logical thinking as well as the science behind the development of Games and Toys.
Startup Conclave
- India is the 3 largest startup ecosystems globally, with more than 75,000 startups.
- The conclave had a special focus on the Biotech Innovation ecosystem that is championed by DBT/BIRAC.
- Startup Conclave comprised of four major elements, (i) Exhibition of innovative products and technologies by Startups in various fields, (ii) Exhibits by Incubators offering enabling services and shared infrastructure, (iii) Focused discussions on challenges and opportunities for Startups and (iv) how to avail the enabling opportunities under Startup India.
State Science & Technology Councils Conclave
- State Science &Technology Councils Conclave deliberated on catalyzing the Science Technology and Innovation (STI) ecosystem at the state level through the network of State Science & Technology Councils.
Students’ Innovation Festival (SIF)
- Students’ Innovation Festival (SIF) was focused on spreading technical knowledge and suffusing enthusiasm in the minds of the students to develop technology for a sustainable life.
Students Science Village 2022
- Students Science Village was set to reach out to the rural masses and propagate science to the extent of seeking scientific solutions to the diverse challenges our society is facing, specifically the rural parts of our nation, and also to inculcate scientific temperament and promote interest in science.
VIGYANIKA – Science Literature Festival
- The aim of the ‘Vigyanika – Science Literature Festival’ was to deliberate on mechanisms to take science to every corner of the country through effective science literature disseminated through the multitudes of media channels available today.
Young Scientists Conference
- Young Scientist Conference (YSC) brought the young researchers, scientists, and innovators under the age of 40 years belonging to academia, research, and industry fraternities.
- The aim of the conference was to make young researchers aware about the scientific policies of India and also to discuss the success stories of scientific progress of India.
- This event motivated the young brains to find scientific solutions for the ongoing issues of our country such as climate change, bioeconomy, ecosystem sustainability, rational use and protection of natural resources.
- The themes selected for the Young Scientist Conference were Frontier areas of Science Research, Pandemic Challenges, impacts and research in vaccine development, Water resources, conservation, recycling and purification, Biodiversity, Environment & Climate Change, Food and Energy Security for Self-Reliant India.
Mentoring & Counselling (Scientific Discussion)
- This was the event conceptualized for encouraging young students to pursue science as a career and explore broader opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) by equipping them with the necessary information by the scientific experts.
- Expert advice, career counselling, startup advice, tech advice etc., was provided to students and their parents, research scholars young entrepreneurs, innovators and science communicators related to various options available in STEM.
Previous Editions:
- The IISF 2022 was the eighth edition since its inception in 2015.
- The first and second IISF were held in New Delhi, the third in Chennai, the fourth one in Lucknow, fifth in Kolkata, sixth through virtual mode and the last one IISF was held in Goa which witnessed a footfall from over 5 lakh people worldwide.
Massive District Outreach Programme, Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0
⇒ Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation launched a massive district outreach program- “Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0” on 27 January 2023 through a revamped Nidhi Aapke Nikat program in all the districts of the country.
The program was e-launched by Ms Arti Ahuja, Secretary (Ministry of Labour & Employment) from the EPFO Headquarters, in the presence of Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) and officers of EPFO.
Aim:
The aim of this program is to reach all the districts of the country on the same day i.e. 27th of every month. The Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 started from January 2023. EPFO organized camps in 685 districts of the country. However, if 27th of a month is a holiday, it will be conducted on the next working day.
Key Points:
- The Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 will not be only grievance redressal platform and information exchange network for the employers and the employees but also a platform for exchange of information with the district level authorities of various State and Central Government departments.
- In this programme, a help desk will be created where members will get the online services like filing of online claim etc. Grievance redressal of the members will be done on the spot and in case any grievance could not be redressed on the spot, it will be registered on the grievance portal of EPFO and will be resolved on priority.
- The Nidhi Aapke Nikat is a programme where EPFO stakeholders come to the EPFO field offices for grievance redressal; under the Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0, EPFO will reach out to the stakeholders, thereby increasing accessibility and visibility of the organisation, in all the districts of the country.
Other Points:
- Over the years, EPFO has taken several measures and reforms for the benefit of its subscribers. In the year 2015, Bhavishya Nidhi Adalat was rechristened as Nidhi Aapke Nikat and in the year 2019, the outreach of the Nidhi Aapke Nikat Program was further improved by inviting participation of trade unions.
- In the year 2021, for grievances redressal of pensioners, an exclusive platform monthly Pension Adalat was initiated.