Onlykashmir.in News Desk
NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, who represents Udhampur in the Lok Sabha, on Monday took part in the 8th India-UK Science and Innovation Council meeting with UK Secretary of State Jonathan Reynolds. The two ministers also jointly inaugurated the BRIC-CDFD-ONT India Genomics Centre of Excellence in the national capital, marking a concrete outcome of the partnership.
The meeting reviewed progress in bilateral science and innovation cooperation and explored ways to strengthen research partnerships, collaboration on emerging technologies and the translation of scientific research into practical applications. The Indian delegation included Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Sood, along with the secretaries of the Departments of Science and Technology, Biotechnology and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the chief executive of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and the secretary of the Technology Development Board. The UK side was led by Reynolds and included British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron, Deputy High Commissioner Ben Mellor and senior officials of the Department for Business, Innovation and Trade.
The genomics centre was inaugurated in the presence of Dr Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology and Director General of the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC), Prof Ullas Kolthur-Seetharam, Director of BRIC-CDFD, and Nick Keher, Chief Financial Officer of Oxford Nanopore Technologies. It brings an Indian research institution together with a UK genomics technology company, the kind of industry-linked arrangement both sides say they want to promote.
The Council’s agenda builds on the India-UK Research and Innovation Memorandum of Understanding, the Technology Security Initiative and India-UK Vision 2035. Together, these frameworks give research institutions, universities, industry and innovators a base for working across borders, with an emphasis on turning research into technologies and applications.
Industry-led research and commercialisation remain a priority. The Department of Science and Technology’s collaboration with Innovate UK supports joint industrial research and development aimed at creating new intellectual property, technologies, processes and prototypes. Eight projects have been agreed for support in areas such as advanced manufacturing, power electronics and net-zero technologies, and are at various stages of implementation.
Cooperation also reaches into strategic technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, semiconductors, critical minerals, advanced materials, biotechnology, telecommunications and net-zero technologies. Joint research by Indian and UK institutions covers antimicrobial resistance, healthcare, agriculture, climate and weather science, geohazards, advanced manufacturing and fundamental science. In weather and climate, the work includes research on natural hazards linked to the South Asian monsoon, improved modelling and risk-based forecasting, areas of direct relevance to a Himalayan region such as Jammu and Kashmir, where floods, landslides and erratic weather are recurring concerns.
The meeting reaffirmed the importance of sustained institutional engagement and closer links between research, industry and innovation ecosystems. Continued India-UK cooperation, both sides indicated, can advance scientific discovery, strengthen research partnerships and turn scientific capability into practical solutions for shared challenges.
