THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala received good representation in the reconstituted National Innovation Foundation (NIF) functioning under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology. N P Rajive, executive director of Vibha Vani (innovative national network of science-oriented development organisations under Vijnana Bharati), is the new vice-chairman while Lakshmi Menon, of Good Karma Foundation, has been drafted in as a member on the NIF board. Space scientist P S Goel (former secretary, MOEF) is the chairman.
The board consists of secretaries from the national departments of Science and Technology, Ayush, HRD, DBT, MSME, DSIR, school education and literacy; secretary, Gujarat state government; director generals of ICMR and ICAR; chairman AICTE and a panel of other experts and organisations of repute who have contributed in the area of innovation. The NIF’s mission is to create a knowledge-based society by expanding policy and institutional space for innovators and outstanding knowledge holders.
It is increasingly seen as a pivot in promoting innovation in various sectors of the economy and at various levels of society. It is keen on the preservation of traditional knowledge systems and resources and to reinvent them according to modern needs. NIF is expected to network with innovators, grass root organisations and the scientific fraternity to bring about a change towards creating a New India by 2022.