Imprint-India (IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology), a joint initiative of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has been tasked with developing a roadmap for research to solve major engineering challenges in 10 technology domains relevant to India.
The project aims to accelerate the process of sanctioning funds for research work across India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, launched the 1000 crore rupee ($150 million) Imprint-India Project last week.
Group officials from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Ministry of Defence, Department of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology, and the Ministry of Rural Development, among others, will receive research proposals from various institutes to develop affordable technologies in India and fund those which are deemed worthy.
The project will focus on 10 areas: Health care, information and communication technology, energy, sustainable habitat, nano-technology hardware, water resources and river systems, advanced materials, manufacturing, security and defence, and environmental science and climate change. India still has to import technology for research in many of these fields.
"Society is becoming technology-driven. It is important to understand the importance of this and look towards affordable technology. We have to think about how our institutions can set up their own incubation centres to help the industries," Modi added.