New Delhi, The Narendra Modi government is focusing on facilitating innovation from India and developing indigenous technologies relevant to the country and the world. Officials say the government’s Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA) initiative has served as a catalyst for nurturing innovation and industrial R&D by fostering collaboration with academia and industry.”GITA, with its clear mandate to stimulate industry investment in R&D and its demonstration to deliver commercialised products and services, is well poised to further the government’s vision of creating a self-reliant Nation,” said Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan. Through GITA, the Department of Science and Technology has been able to successfully engage in implementation of bilateral industrial R&D projects in collaboration with some of the most innovative nations of the world such as Israel, South Korea, Finland and Canada, he said on GITA’s 9th Foundation Day on Thursday last. “DST (department of Science & Technology) has been focussing on development of indigenous technologies that are new and relevant to India and globally, and facilitating novelty in innovation from India,” said DST Secretary, Ashutosh Sharma. “We need to integrate the complete knowledge chain in order to understand how science & technology can help achieve a self-reliant India. GITA would continue to play a bigger and better role in all these opportunities,” added Sharma. Three successful projects were completed this year as a result of collaboration with the International partner countries The projects ranged from areas including Design and Manufacturing of Artificial Intelligence-based Electronic Metering & Monitoring System for Indian Power Distribution Sector, Development of pearl millet hybrid seeds and novel food products like an affordable resource for prevention of Type 2 diabetes, to Design and Development of Advanced Power Electronic and Related Technologies for Integration of Solar Power plants with power Utility Grid.Principal Scientific Adviser to government, K VijayRaghavan said technology can be an enabler for India to position itself as a global leader.He said the COVID 19 pandemic has stimulated extraordinary collaboration between the country’s research laboratories, R&D labs, and industry and between industry and society. “This feature needs to be embedded as we move along into the future.”