Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India

The Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) is the chief advisor to the government on matters related to scientific policy.^[1] It is currently a Secretary level position created in 1999 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. At the time, the position was a Cabinet rank position, with the first PSA being A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.^[2][3] This was followed by Rajagopala Chidambaram who held the rank of a Minister of State and was the PSA for 16 years.^[2] The current PSA is Ajay Kumar Sood.^[4]

The 'Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser', through the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) helps scientific cross-sectoral synergy across ministries, institutions and the industry.^[5]

Appointees

There have been a total of four PSAs so far:

No.	Portrait	Principal Scientific Adviser	Took office	Left office	Ref.
1		Kalam, A. P. J. AbdulA. P. J. Abdul Kalam (15 October 1931–27 July 2015)	1999	2002
2		Chidambaram, RajagopalaRajagopala Chidambaram (born 12 November 1936)	2002	2018
3		VijayRaghavan, KrishnaswamyK. VijayRaghavan (born 3 February 1954)	April 2018	April 2022
4		Sood, Ajay K.Ajay K. Sood (born 26 June 1951)	April 2022	Incumbent	^[6]

Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India advises the government in science and technology policies and interventions that are of strategic socio-economic importance to the country. This is done in collaboration with various ministries, institutions, academia and industry. The PM-STIAC is one of the catalysts for such tasks and also overseas the implementation of the tasks.^[7]

Nine National Missions

On 6 March 2019, the PSA announced nine new science and technology missions with a focus on 'Science for People and People for Science':^[8][9]

• Natural Language Translation
• Quantum Frontier
• Artificial Intelligence
• National Biodiversity Mission
• Electric Vehicles
• Bio-science for Human Health
• Waste to Wealth
• Deep Ocean Exploration
• Accelerating Growth of New India's Innovations (AGNIi)

Other major projects include Research Clusters, Earth Museum, Brahmaputra River System, I-STEM Facilities Map and Energy Security.^[10]

Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC)

The Council allows the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to ascertain the status, challenges and interventions needed in the science and technology domain so as to advise the PM is as best a manner as possible.^[11] The PM's STIAC increases the collaboration and focus needed to answer complex problems in appropriate time periods.^[12] One of the ways this is done is through it missions.^[12]

Members

Members include:^[10]

• V. K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog & former Chairman, DRDO
• A. S. Kiran Kumar, former Chairman, ISRO
• Ajay Kumar Sood, Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
• Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar, Dean, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune
• Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
• Manjul Bhargava, Professor, Princeton University, USA
• Subhash Kak, Professor, Oklahoma State University, USA
• Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge, Pune

See also

• List of office-holders in India
• Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India

References

1. Sinha, Amitabh (27 March 2018). "VijayRaghavan appointed principal scientific advisor to govt". The Indian Express. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
2. Somasekhar, M. (2 April 2018). "Is the Centre downgrading the office of Principal Scientific Advisor?". The Hindu @businessline. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
3. Sangomla, Akshit (29 March 2018). "How the topmost scientific advisory body gradually slipped into oblivion". Down to Earth. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
4. Roy, Esha (21 April 2022). "Renowned physicist Ajay Sood appointed new PSA". The Indian Express. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
5. "Principal Scientific Adviser Holds Meeting with Leading MNCs to Position India as a Favoured Destination for R&D". pib.gov.in. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
6. Mohan, Vishwa. "Ajay Kumar Sood of IISc Bangalore appointed new Principal Scientific Advisor". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
7. "Overview | Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India". psa.gov.in. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
8. "Principal Scientific Adviser details nine new science and technology missions for the country". Research Matters. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
9. "National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NMQTA)". tifac.org.in. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
10. (6 March 2019). Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STAIC) Press Release. PIB.
11. "Nine Science and Technology Missions with Focus on Science for People and People for Science". pib.gov.in. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. "Nine Science and Technology Missions with Focus on Science for People and People for Science". pib.gov.in. Ministry of Science & Technology. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)