An Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) will be established in about two months here.
This was stated by T. Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), and Thomas Rachel, Parliamentary Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, following the 8 th meeting of the Indo-German Committee on Science and Technology here on Saturday.
The Committee meets once a year alternately in Germany and India.
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The centre's mandate is to bring together scientists and industry from both countries to carry out R&D projects in a “2+2” collaborative arrangement. That is, scientists from India will identify a partnering Indian firm to collaborate with a corresponding German scientists-industry partnership group.
“We are now in the project evaluation process,” said Dr. Ramasami. Both nations had agreed to contribute €2m each every year over the next five years towards the funding of projects.
Already a programme on ‘Lean Manufacturing' has been launched among IIT Delhi, PSG College of Technology (Coimbatore) and the Institute of Production Management, Technology and Machine Tools, Darmstadt.
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A programme on ‘Automotive Resource Policy' has also been taken up in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute as part of which three workshops were held in the last year-and-half, according to Dr. Ramasami.
Given the frequent comparisons made between India and China on S&T matters, Jens Urban, head of the press and public relations at the German Embassy here, pointed out that no such centre was created for Sino-German S&T cooperation.
“We have travelled a considerable distance together. In the last five years since the collaboration began, we have been working very closely and strengthening S&T cooperation,” Dr. Ramasami said. Last year alone, as many as 1,700 scientists moved between the two countries as part of the scientists exchange programmes. This marked an increase of 35 per cent over the previous year.
“There was some concern earlier that there were more Indian scientists travelling to Germany than German scientists coming here. Now the symmetry has been restored with a 40 per cent increase in the number of scientists from Germany. The real hallmark of our cooperation has been the symmetry and co-sharing of resources,” he said.
The cooperation focussed on research in areas related to sustainable development, energy and water.
According to Mr. Rachel, Germany had earmarked €12 m for a five-year period beginning this year for funding mobility of students to India and Indian students to Germany under the German campaign called ‘New Passage to India.'
A corresponding investment by India towards this exchange programme was mooted and was under the consideration of the Indian government, Dr. Ramasami said.
Innovation house
The German Education and Research Ministry proposed to set up a German House of Science and Innovation (GHSI) in New Delhi, an entity distinct from the IGSTC.
The GHSI, an initiative of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German Federal Foreign Office's Research and Academic Relations Programme, will be a platform for interaction among Indian and German collaborating scientists and technologists.
This will be one of the five Houses being established in five cities on four continents to create a global network that will showcase German competence and innovative strength in science and technology: in New Delhi, Tokyo, New York, Moscow and São Paulo.
The Indian GHSI will be the third innovation house to be established around the world; the first one was in São Paulo, Brazil, about six months back and the second was in New York about three weeks back.
“This is indicative of the importance we attach to cooperation in science and technology with India,” Mr. Rachel said.
The House is being established in conjunction with 6-7 major German universities and German research foundations such as German Research Foundation, German Academic Exchange Service, the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society, the Helmholtz Association and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
“This forum will also help to avoid overlap and repetition in the collaborative research being undertaken as part of programmes separately under these agencies,” Dr. Ramasami said.
German President Horst Koehler has announced that the year 2011-12 will be a German-Indian year by showcasing German politics, culture, art and S&T. President Pratibha Patil too has patronised the idea by announcing an Indian-Germany year that would project Indian achievements in Germany during 2012-13.