The 99th Indian Science Congress concludes at Bhubaneshwar today with Childrens’ Science Congress and Womens’ Science Congress. Shri B Hari Gopal, Adviser , Science and Technology to the Prime Minister took charge from Smt Geetha Bali, out going President of 99th Indian Science Congress. The Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh will be the President of the 100th Indian Science Congress which will be held at Kolkata next year.
Several awards were given away to the winners of best entries in various competitions like posters, essays etc which were held to create awareness in the field of science and technology in 14 sections.
The 99th edition of ISC was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday. More than 15,000 delegates, including scientists and students participated in the January 3-7 event held at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University). The theme of the conference was "Science and Technology for Inclusive Innovation - Role of Women". Along with the event Women’s Science Congress and Childrens’ Science Congress were also organised.
The five-day event witnessed 35 special lectures and 30 plenary sessions and panel discussions, a 'Pride of India' expo and other programmes. Experts from various science and technology related fields took part in the event which saw a huge attendance of school children from across the country. Around 250 delegates from abroad including NRIs and several noble laureates participated in the ISC.
Besides the emphasis on women and children, the other issue in focus at the Congress were missiles. India's premier military weapons developer, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) displayed models of the Agni, Prithvi, Nag, Akash, BrahMos and Astra missiles. Departments from various government departments and private organisations and industries exhibited various research modules and programmes.