PM: India's scientists its greatest assets

Addressing the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it took a global pandemic to make the world realise yet again the importance of teamwork.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the future will be shaped by societies that invest in science and innovation.

Addressing the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it took a global pandemic to make the world realise yet again the importance of teamwork.

The three-day virtual meet is bringing together policymakers and scientific leaders, calling for deepened scientific collaborations in solving global health problems, with great emphasis on COVID-19 with an "India for the World" framing.

Here are highlights of the PM's speech:

* "Integral to our work in higher education is to ensure that more quality institutions are built and women get greater access to top quality education."

* "There have been paradigm shifts in the education sector due to the National Education Policy."

* "We have made many interventions which are contributing to a better healthcare system. In the sanitation arena, we have improved cleanliness and increased toilet coverage. Who does this help the most? It helps the poor and under-privileged. It leads to a reduction in diseases"

* "In India, we have a strong and vibrant scientific community. We also have good scientific institutions. They have been India’s greatest assets, specially during the last few months, while fighting Covid-19. From containment to capacity building, they have achieved wonders."

* "Today, we are seeing a decline in the number of cases per day and the growth rate of cases. India has one of the highest recovery rates of 88 percent."

* "India was one of the first countries to adopt a lockdown. India was one of the first to encourage the usage of masks. India actively began to work on effective contact-tracing. India was one of the earliest to deploy the rapid antigen tests"

* "The future will be shaped by societies that invest in science and innovation. But, this cannot be done in a short-sighted manner. One has to invest in science and innovation well in advance. That is when we can reap benefits at the right time."