Government guidelines on Scientific Social Responsibility on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility
Guidelines seek to harness the latent
potential of the scientific community on voluntary basis, strengthening science
and society linkages and thereby making Science &Technology ecosystem
responsive to societal needs: Dr Jitendra Singh
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).