According to you, what is the role of the Office of PSA in  catalysing science-based entrepreneurship?

The Office of Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) was established  in 1999 to provide pragmatic and objective advice to the Prime  Minister and cabinet on matters related to science, technology  and innovation with a focus on application of science and  technology. We play a critical role in defining the research  priorities of the country, providing an enabling ecosystem for  technology-led innovations and techno-entrepreneurship. We  enable effective public-private linkages for driving research  and innovation. 

What are some of the ways in  which Office of PSA is encouraging  science-based entrepreneurship?

We have worked closely with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to launch the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020) to reorient India’s science, technology and innovation in terms of priorities, sectoral focus and strategies. Closely coordinating with the New Education Policy launched by the Ministry of Education, STIP provides a roadmap to balance the needs of the research community, industry, and society through sound government policies both at the centre and at individual state levels. We have also launched I-Stem, a national portal which assists researchers to locate the specific facilities needed for their R&D work. We are also creating S&T clusters in various cities to create strong linkages between existing academic institutions, national and state research laboratories, and other stakeholders. These clusters will provide a shared ecosystem for the stakeholders to identify regional problems and build on their mutual strengths to become nationally and globally competitive solution providers.

What is your message to the  scientists interested in creating  societal impact based on their  research?

To create societal impact based on research, they need to be interactive and need to take it all the way from research to commercialisation. Industry and academia have different priorities and we need to create interface structures such as technology transfer offices to perform impedance matching. The AIM-PRIME programme and this Playbook will bridge the knowledge gap in our ecosystem to do this.

I wish all the science-based entrepreneurs the very best of luck!