ANRF Bill To Boost R&D in India: Official

Chennai, Jan 24 (PTI) The Department of Science and Technology is in the process of operationalising the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill aimed at giving a boost to research and development in the country, a top government official said on Wednesday.

The board of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation would be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ANRF Bill would be notified soon, Department of Science and Technology, Secretary, Abhay Karandikar said here.

The department was also welcoming the private sector in the sharing of Geospatial Data and would be setting up a Geospatial Data Exchange for industries to access it, he said.

Karandikar made these comments at the 4th annual symposium, organised by the "Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship" at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, here.

"The Anusandhan National Research Foundation has been our Prime Minister's vision to upscale our Research and Development and innovation ecosystem infrastructure in the country," he said.

The ANRF Bill has been approved by the Parliament and the Department of Science and Technology, which is the nodal agency, is in the process of operationalising the Bill, he said.

"The ANRF will be the primary body for funding R&D programmes, technology development programmes, incubation, start-ups and innovation programmes in the country. It will be a professionally managed body," he said.

He noted that DST was taking a leadership role in access to Geospatial Data.

"The Government of India has liberalised Geospatial Data access. We will be setting up a Geospatial Data Exchange and have a universal interface for the industries to access the data," he said. There is 'big opportunity' in Geospatial Data Science and Geospatial computing, he remarked.

According to the DST website, 'Geospatial Data' are location information data -- natural or man-made, physical or imaginary that features above or below the ground, weather patterns and statistical information, among others.

'Location information' is an integral part of the modern digital ecosystem, critical for the success of location-based services like e-Commerce, logistics and urban-transport. It is also essential for sectors like agriculture, construction, mines and minerals.