PIB Delhi – Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today informed that the government has launched guidelines on Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR), on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), on National Technology Day on 11.05.2022. In reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the SSR guidelines seek to harness the latent potential of the scientific community on voluntary basis, strengthening science and society linkages and thereby making S&T ecosystem responsive to societal needs. He said, the guidelines have provisions to give due weightage to individual SSR activities in performance evaluation of scientists / knowledge workers. The guidelines also include provision of incentivising individual and institutional SSR activities.
The responsibilities of scientists, knowledge-workers and institutions of the country include carrying out SSR activities like delivering lectures in schools and colleges, writing popular science articles in media, sharing of infrastructure and knowledge resources, S&T based empowerment of women and weaker sections of the society by awareness building, training programs, skill development through training and workshops, demonstration of solutions and technologies, etc. The guidelines have the potential to bring scientific and innovative solutions to societal problems, especially for the marginalized sections of society, and imparting thrust to the new initiatives of Government such as Transformation of Aspirational Districts, Make in India, Swachh Bharat and Digital India in achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development towards making India a self-reliant nation (Atma Nirbhar Bharat).
