National Science Day: I-STEM eyes tech tools to empower academia, industry

CHENNAI: Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM), an initiative from the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser of the Union government is set to launch ‘One District, One Equipment’ on Friday, February 28, as part of National Science Day, to ensure that every district has access to scientific equipment.

This programme aims to connect researchers, startups, and industries with a vast network of labs and equipment across diverse sectors through an I-STEM-operated portal.

“It provides a platform for academic institutions to register their scientific equipment that can be taken for rent by start-ups, industry, entrepreneurs and researchers. This will save the researchers, industry and start-ups the prohibitive capital expenditure of purchasing advanced equipment. At the National level, this prevents the duplication of scarce resources in the research institutions, a release issued by I-STEM read.

Highlighting the need for such initiatives, Harilal Bhaskar, Chief Operating Officer and National Coordinator, I-STEM, said, “Equipment gathering dust in labs is not just wasted funds but a waste of potential innovation and research that could fuel the Nation’s growth.”

Harilal added, “I-STEM proposes that academic institutions across the country be mandated to allocate at least 30% of their total lab time for external users, including startups, industries, and rural innovators. It can facilitate this initiative through its portal, which both the Industry and academic institutions can use.”