IMPRINT India initiative

President Pranab Mukherjee is launching on November 5 the ‘IMPRINT India,’ a Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative to develop a roadmap for research to solve major engineering and technology challenges in ten technology domains relevant to India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the IMPRINT India brochure and hand over the first copy to the President of India. Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani will also address the gathering.

The idea of launching ‘IMPRINT India’ originated during the conference of Chairmen, Board of Governors and Directors of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) convened by the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 22, 2014. It is based on the Prime Minister’s suggestion that research done by institutions of national importance must be linked with immediate requirements of the society at large. The first ever Visitors Conference was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. This was an interactive session between Industry and Academia, which saw an exchange of 44 MOUs and lectures by eminent persons.

The objectives of this initiative is to: identify areas of immediate relevance to society requiring innovation; direct scientific research into identified areas; ensure higher funding support for research into these areas; and measure outcomes of the research effort with reference to impact on the standard of living in the rural/urban areas.

IMPRINT India will focus on ten themes with each to be coordinated by one IIT/IISc, namely: (a) Health Care - IIT Kharagpur;

(b) Computer Science and ICT – IIT Kharagpur; (c) Advance Materials – IIT Kanpur; (d) Water Resources and River systems – IIT Kanpur; (e) Sustainable Urban Design – IIT Roorkee; (f) Defence – IIT Madras; (g) Manufacturing – IIT Madras; (h) Nano-technology Hardware- IIT Bombay; (i) Environmental Science and Climate Change – IISc, Bangalore; and (j) Energy Security – IIT Bombay.

The ten coordinating institutions have done extensive consultations and arrived at specific themes in each area of research that has immediate social relevance. IMPRINT India is being launched during the Visitor’s Conference so that wide discussion can be held amongst the academic community leading to further scientific collaboration between various institutions in these areas.

The top research community from across Central Universities, IITs, NITs, IISc, Bangalore, IISERs, IIITs, NIPERs, NIFT, IIEST, Shibpur, RGIPT, Rae Bareli, RGNIYD, Sreperumbudur, School of Planing and Architecture Bhopal and New Delhi and senior government officials will attend the function when ‘IMPRINT India’ will be launched as well as the Visitor’s Conference where follow up discussions will be held.