National Technology Day-Technology Development Board

National Technology Day

Context

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today paid tributes to all the scientists in the country who are using science and technology to bring a positive difference in the lives of others.

On National Technology Day (May 11^th), our nation salutes all those who are leveraging technology to bring a positive difference in the lives of others.

About National Technology Day

India is observing its 29th National Technology Day on May 11,2020. The day, which was first observed on May 11, 1999, aims to commemorate the scientific and technological achievements of Indian scientists and engineers.

1. May 11 is also the day when India conducted its first successful test in Pokhran. On May 11, 1998, India successfully fired the Shakti-I nuclear missile at an Army test range in Rajasthan’s Pokhran. Two days later, the country conducted two more nuclear tests as a part of the same operation, following which India joined the elite club of nuclear power nations.

2. The day also marks the flight of indigenously developed Hansa-3. It was developed jointly by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) lab.

3. On the same day, that is, May 11, 1988, the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) completed the final test fire of the surface-to-air Trishul missile.

4. Former Indian PM Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee coined this term to celebrate the contributions made by Indian scientists.

5. Every year since 1999, the Technology Development Board (TBD) celebrates this day by awarding individuals for their scientific contributions to India.

About Technology Development Board

The Government of India constituted the Technology Development Board (TDB) in September 1996, under the Technology Development Board Act, 1995, as a statutory body, to promote development and commercialization of indigenous technology and adaptation of imported technology for wider application. The board consists of 11 Board members.

The TDB is the first organization of its kind within the government framework with the sole objective of commercializing the fruit of indigenous research. The Board plays a pro-active role by encouraging enterprises to take up technology oriented products.

Provides equity capital or loans to industrial concerns and financial assistance to research and development institutions.

Funding pattern

The Fund has been receiving grants from the Government of India out of the cess collections from the industrial concerns under the provisions of the Research and Development Cess Act, 1986, as amended in 1995. Any income from investment of the amount of the Fund and the recoveries made of the amounts disbursed from the Fund are credited for building up the Fund. The finance Act, 1999, enabled full deductions to the donations made to the fund for income tax purposes.

The objectives are to:

• promote new ideas from small enterprises even at the risk of failures;
• encourage production of competitive consumer products;
• motivate industries and R&D institutions for product innovation;
• develop socially relevant and profitable technologies;
• identify and act in areas requiring strategic interventions;
• Invest in core Technological Strengths to Enable India Industry to Stand-up to the competitive Pressure and Become a global Player.

The board:

• Facilitates interaction between industry, scientists, technocrats and specialists;
• Facilitates the creation of new generation of entrepreneurs;
• Assists partnerships with other, similar technology financing bodies;
• Creates new job opportunities.