VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has directed officials to prioritise the recognition, protection, and encouragement of grassroots innovations.
Chairing a review meeting with senior officials of the Science and Technology Department on Tuesday, he stressed that immediate patent rights should be granted to new inventions, along with support for their growth, to foster a new generation of village-level innovators.
Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Made in India, Make in India’ vision, Pawan Kalyan urged the State to contribute actively by preparing a comprehensive action plan. He reviewed initiatives undertaken over the past year, including activities at the Swami Jnananda Regional Science Centre in Rajahmundry, and discussed strategies to identify and nurture young inventors.
“Knowledge-driven economies thrive on innovation,” he said, underlining that ideas from schools, universities, and rural communities must be recognised and linked with industrialists, IT start-ups, NRIs, and researchers. He emphasised that patents and protection should follow recognition, rather than ending with award ceremonies.
The Deputy Chief Minister proposed giving priority to innovators in MSME parks and said he would take up the matter with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. Reducing dependence on imports, he noted, would strengthen the economy and help India emerge as a global economic power by 2047.
Sharing examples, he recalled how students at the Rajahmundry Science Centre designed tools to ease their parents’ hardships, and how a tribal youth from Nallamala raised concerns over the risks of uranium mining.