The events to be hosted by India include the BRICS Startups Forum meet

The BRICS Science Technology Innovation (STI) Steering Committee has allocated five events related to science, technology and innovation to India as part of the calendar of BRICS STI activities for 2022.

The five BRICS SIT events to be hosted by India are the BRICS Startups Forum meeting; Working Groups meetings on Energy, Biotechnology and Biomedicine; ICT and High-Performance Computing; STIEP (Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Partnership) Working Group Meeting and the launch of BRICS Innovation Launchpad as a microsite (Knowledge Hub).

The decision to earmark five events for India was taken at the 15th meeting of the BRICS Science Technology Innovation (STI) Steering Committee held virtually on Monday, the Ministry of Science & Technology said.

The BRICS STI Steering Committee meeting was attended by representatives from BRICS scientific ministries, foreign Missions. From the Indian side, the meeting was led by Advisor and Head International Cooperation, Department of Science and Technology Sanjeev Kumar Varshney.

The meeting has come at a time when India has successfully handed over the BRICS Chairmanship to China from January 2022 onwards The theme for BRICS 2022 is “Foster High-Quality BRICS Partnership Usher in a New Era for Global Development”.

A series of sectoral events and meetings, including minister level and BRICS Summit, will be organized during the year, according to the Science and Technology Ministry.

During the meeting, the Chinese side presented a broad outline of activities to be carried out during the whole year. It mainly includes thematic meetings, BRICS Young Scientist Conclave, senior official, and ministerial-level meetings.

A total of 25 events have been planned, including the five which will be hosted by India. DPIIT is the main executing agency for the BRICS Startups Forum and creation of the Innovation Knowledge Hub.

The BRICS Young Scientist Conclave will be held in September 2022 in a virtual format, and thematic focus may be Carbon peak neutralization; Biomedicine, Artificial Intelligence, Material Science; Modern Agriculture.

China has proposed to host the 10th BRICS S&T Ministerial meeting and Senior Official Meeting in September 2022. The meeting theme would promote Open, Inclusive, and Shared Science, Technology, and Innovation.
On the sideline of the Ministerial meeting, an exhibition will be organized showcasing outcomes of successful projects supported under the BRICS Framework Programme (2015-2022).

India tentatively indicated a willingness to host the STIEP working group meeting on 23 – 24 March 2022 and BRICS Startups Forum Meeting in May/June 2022.