Govt. of India Sanctioned Northern Region Science & Technology Cluster proposed by PU and IIT Ropar

Chandigarh, August 10, 2023: The President of India through the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India has been sanctioned the Northern Region Science & Technology Cluster proposed by PU and IIT Ropar. The S&T cluster will engage with Academia, Industry, Government, NGOs and Philanthropistsof the northern region to solve grassroot problems and advance S&T ecosystem in the country. The cluster will cater to the Research & Development (R&D) needs of the industries, state governments, local bodies (municipal corporations, Panchayats, etc.) of the northern region comprising of the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territories of J&K and Chandigarh. The cluster will be situated on the PU Campus in Chandigarh.

Cluster will be receiving Rs. 10.35 cr as ignition grant from the government. This grant will be used to setup the cluster and to undertake the R&D projects (of national importance). Five thematic areas (Agriculture and food processing, Pharma/medical devices/health-care, Indigenous technology development and optimization, Waste management and wealth from waste, Sustainable mobility and green energy) have been identified under which the seed funding will be provided.The S&T cluster will function as a not-for-profit Section-8 company situated in Chandigarh, and will be financially supported by the office of PSA for a period of 3 years. Subsequently, cluster is expected to become self-reliant that in a very through transferring Technologies to the Industry by doing Industrial consultancy projects and by involvement in CSR projects.

Professor RenuVig, the Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, expressed happiness over establishment of the cluster and articulated that now PUand IIT Ropar have to meticulously mobilize all stake-holders for improving Science & Technology ecosystem of Northern region. She took this opportunity to urge students as well as scientists of Northern region to initiate their R&D projects while involving the end-users in the innovation journey from day zero of their projects. She further shared that through this cluster, the national goals to provide exposure to students of real-world pain-points of Industry/Society/Government. that in a very natural manner valuable innovations start happening in Academic Institutes. through transferring Technologies to the Industry, by doing Industrial consultancy projects, by doing CSR projects etc.

Speaking on the announcement of the cluster Professor Rajeev Ahuja, the Director of the IIT Ropar, said that this cluster will find innovative ways to improve the collaboration between industry and academia of the region. With the institutions of the region, we aim to address the urgent issues of MSME, Pharmaceutical Industry, Agriculture, Clean Energy using Bio-mass, textile industry, heavy industry, to say less. The cluster will also concentrate on skilling, up-skilling and reskilling of the youth of region, particularly female to support the national vision of sustainable development goals and AatmaNirbhar Barat. He called upon all the stockholders for a exemplary fruitful collaboration under the umbrella of S&T cluster.