IISc, OPSA organise summit on expanding science, tech horizons

Bengaluru: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (OPSA) organised a day-long summit entitled 'Dialogue 2023: Expanding Science and Technology Horizons' here on Saturday. 

Recognising the importance of science, technology and innovation in addressing socioeconomic challenges and existential threats like climate change, the summit focused on ethical challenges related to disruptive technologies, the role of international collaborations, and the need to recognise diverse knowledge systems, according to a statement from the institute. 

"As India’s pre-eminent science institute, IISc has played a notable role in knowledge support to the government, in national S&T missions, and in instituting policies and programmes," IISc Director Prof G Rangarajan said during the opening session on 'Shaping Technological Futures'.

These programmes include the Indian Science Technology and Engineering Facilities Map (I-STEM), the Bengaluru S&T (BeST) cluster, the India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX) platform, AI and Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK), Policy Analytics & Insights Unit of the OPSA, and efforts to develop high-quality health datasets in collaboration with ICMR.  

Prof Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and National Science Chair Professor at the Department of Physics, IISc, highlighted the immense potential of emerging technologies like quantum computing and communication. 

A session on the ethical challenges and principles related to disruptive technologies like AI focused on the intersection of technology, ethics and society, and drew attention to the need for the regulation of emerging technologies. 
 
Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), highlighted India’s digital growth and the impact of digital services like UPI.