Vice President Naidu asks scientists to come up with out-of-the-box solutions to address challenges faced by mankind

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday called upon scientists to come up with out-of-the-box solutions to address challenges faced by mankind from climate change to agriculture to health and medicine.

His remarks came after he laid the foundation stone of the Innovation and Development Centre at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru on Monday.

Addressing scientists and students at the JNCASR, the Vice President urged scientists to strive for achieving excellence and to innovate for improving the lives of the people.

"Purpose of science is to make people's lives happy, healthy and comfortable", he reiterated.

He lauded JNCASR for having generated over 300 patents and for promoting the establishment of a few startups based on indigenous inventions.

Stressing that scientific research should be relevant to society, he said, in this context, translational research assumes importance

Observing that science is the backbone for the progress and technological advancement of any country, the Vice President referred to India's huge demographic dividend and said the need of the hour is to inculcate scientific temper from a young age and to promote world-class scientific research that addresses societal problems.

Referring to the National Education Policy 2020, he said it will ensure that students have access to new teaching and learning strategies across all segments. "This will create the right educational ecosystem and enrich their knowledge base as also honing their skill sets," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )