The Centre has urged the state governments to draw up their action plans for development of science and technology.
Addressing the state ministers for science and technology, the Union S&T minister, Kapil Sibal said that the Union government was willing to fund the expenses arising out of preparation of the state plans.
This is the first meeting of the state science and technology ministers convened by the UPA government. The meeting was attended by S&T ministers from 9 states which included Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi was represented by the chief minister, . Sheila Dikshit. Senior science and technology officials representing 26 States and Union Territories also participated in the meeting.
Sibal also suggested to the states to expand their science and technology councils with adequate representations from the industry, NGOs and state and central government representatives. He urged the state governments to set up Vision Councils within 30 days, clearly defining the path of progress. Noting that there are no institutes of the Central Council of Industrial Research in some states like Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and northeastern India, Sibal said that immediate programmes of capacity building and human resources development would be undertaken throughout the country by CSIR and the department of biotechnology.