PM to inaugurate Indian Science Congress Jan 3

NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the 98th Indian Science Congress in Chennai on Jan 3, an event that will be attended by scientists and academicians from all over the world.

The five-day Congress being held from Jan 3-7 at SRM University in Chennai will have about 14 sessions.

Some of the key sessions would be on Science Policy - Agenda for next five years, Challenges of maintaining quality education, Enhancing Academia-Industry interactions, Drug development from discovery to market, Strategic electronics in defence segment and Health and Disease - Cancer: Development of novel drugs for therapy and prevention.

The Science Congress will also have separate programmes on Children’s Science Congress which would give an excellent opportunity for school students to showcase their interest in the latest scientific developments. This would be a platform where they can exhibit their creativity and innovation through an exhibition.

The Science Exhibition will be one of the major events of the 98th Indian Science Congress. The prominent developments, major achievements and the significant contributions largely of Indian science and technology to the society will be showcased by leading scientific institutions, government departments, national, international, state as well as public and private agencies and laboratories are expected to participate in the exhibition.

This exhibition will focus on India’s development, especially the country’s recent emergence as a major power in different areas of science and technology.

The objective of Science Communication Meet at the 98th Indian Science Congress would be to develop and advocate basic science knowledge to people. The objective of the Science Meet is to encourage science reporting and writing. The theme for the Science Communication Meet is “Public communication of scientific research: Bridging the knowledge divide”.