Average reading time for this story is 1 minutes
Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and the Chairperson of the Empowered Technology Group (ETG), held the inaugural meeting of the Technology Advisory Group (TAG) for ETG at Vigyan Bhawan Annexe in New Delhi. The meeting aimed to discuss priority areas of scientific research and technology development, with a focus on carbon capture utilization and storage, alternate battery technologies, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
During the meeting, Professor Sood emphasized that the Empowered Technology Group serves as a platform to identify crucial scientific challenges in the country and explore suitable technologies to address them. He stressed that some technologies might be contemporary while others futuristic, enabling the country to be technologically prepared for the future. The TAG’s role is to brainstorm and translate ideas on meeting India’s technology requirements.
The session included presentations from experts, such as Dr. S.S.V. Ramakumar from Indian Oil Corporation Limited, who discussed carbon capture technology and proposed developing a robust policy framework for carbon trading and credits. Prof K. Vijayamohanan Pillai from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati, presented on alternate battery technologies and their potential to replace lithium-ion batteries. Ms. Debjani Ghosh, President of NASSCOM, shared insights on AI as an economic growth frontier, emphasizing the need for foundational models, AI infrastructure, capacity building, and data unlocking.
The meeting also highlighted collaborative opportunities between academic institutions, research centers, and industries through innovation clusters focused on carbon-intensive sectors like steel, cement, and fertilizers. Proper sequestration methods and recycling technologies for batteries were also discussed.
The closing remarks stressed the importance of consolidating efforts to actualize the ideas discussed during the TAG meeting and fulfill its mission in strengthening India’s research and development ecosystem. It was proposed to develop a common governance and implementation model to provide technical support to the identified niche areas.
