In news– Recently, India and Oman agreed upon a programme of scientific and technological cooperation.
About Programme of Cooperation (POC)-
- India and Oman will work together in certain areas like sustainability, scientific harnessing of resources under a POC in the fields of Science and Technology.
- The areas of cooperation identified based on the POC for the period 2022 – 2025 are-
- Medicinal Plants and processing.
- Real-time Air Quality Monitoring.
- Development of an electronic platform for knowledge sharing in the field of Genetic Resources.
- Technical expertise for SMEs in the field of sustainability (Eco-Innovate) Accelerator.
- Plastic Biofuel, and Biodiesel Research (Example: Low-temperature Biodiesel production, Extraction of high-value products from produced water with oil).
- Software development for Graduate Programs – Linking Industry with Academia.
- Blockchain and FinTech solutions.
- Training programmes – Big-data, coding & testing, STEM teaching and other areas of S&T cooperation added by mutual consent.
- The POC document was signed by the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), and Omani Foreign Secretary, on behalf of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman.
- The Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology, on behalf of Government of the Republic of India and the Office of Science, Knowledge & Technology Transfer, Foreign Ministry, on behalf of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, will supervise, coordinate and implement the POC for India and Oman, respectively.
- Under the agreement, both countries will support joint scientific projects based on mutual interest, developed jointly by the Indian and Omani institutions.
- They will encourage exchange of scientists, researchers, experts, and specialists for the implementation of selected joint projects aimed at developing applicable technology.
- The countries will also hold at least one workshop each year – alternatively in India and in Oman during 2022 – 2025 period in mutually acceptable areas.
- The POC for Cooperation in the fields of Science and Technology for the period 2022 – 2025 was signed in pursuance of the Agreement for Cooperation in Science and Technology concluded on 5 October, 1996 between the Governments of two nations.
Source: PIB
