Projects

CII is working on a Mission to Enhance Gender Equality in STEM Workforce in India. Our aspiration is to enable complete equality, i.e., a minimum of 50% Women in STEM in India by 2047, with an interim milestone of 35% Women in STEM by 2030. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) play a pivotal role in driving economic growth and societal development, making gender equality in these fields imperative. The underrepresentation of women in STEM careers calls for concerted efforts from the government, industry, and academia to create an inclusive environment. Recognizing the need for a more diverse workforce, CII launched its second compendium on Women in STEM, building on the success of the first edition. This compendium not only celebrates the achievements of women in STEM but also serves as an inspiration for the next generation, emphasizing their potential as equal contributors to sustainable societal growth. The report explores impactful initiatives by organizations dedicated to promoting women in STEM, highlighting their crucial role in fostering inclusion, and equity, and breaking down historical barriers. CII expresses gratitude to these organizations for their unwavering commitment to reshaping the narrative of women in STEM, emphasizing the transformative power of collaboration and diversity in shaping a future of abundant opportunities and dismantling barriers.

Advanced Materials have the power to drive technological innovation and are critical as they have applications across all the technology verticals from defence to space. Materials science is one of the most influential innovation moats for sustainable and resilient socio-economic growth. Advanced Materials have applications across myriad sectors – from agriculture to transportation & from defence to space. Therefore, materials science should be an integral part of India’s innovation strategy to fuel sectoral advancement that can drive the next era of economic growth. With this as a background, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is on a mission to launch Advanced Materials as a movement across the nation that envisages to enable India take strategic initiatives towards technology leadership. With this in view and under the aegis of CII National Mission on Technology, Innovation and Research, a task force on Advanced Materials was formed in 2022. CII’ Task Force on Advanced Materials is led by Dr. Debashish Bhattacharjee, Vice President, Technology & R&D, Tata Steel. The Task Force is led by experts from industry and academia and focusses on materials, like Titanium, Biomaterials, Urban Mining, Composites, Rare Earths Elements, Advanced Ceramics and Graphene. By the group - CII's Thought Leadership Report on Advanced Materials was also unveiled at CII Advanced Materials Summit . The report has been prepared by f an elite group of experts focussing on seven Advanced materials: Titanium, Biomaterials, Urban Mining, Composites, Rare Earths Elements, Advanced Ceramics and Graphene. The report features the following details about each material: Background, strategic importance of the material, Indian scenario, gap areas, technology frontiers, role of the stakeholders such as, Government, Academia, Industry and Research Institutes and Short, medium, and long Recommendations. Recently, CII also led a delegation on Advanced Materials to UK and met Indian High Commissioner to UK during the visit. The delegation also forged some useful partnerships and collaborations with Manchester University, National Composites Centre, UK, and Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry. Also, CII has been closely engaged with the office of NSA on various sectors under i-CET and one of the subject is Advance Materials. A detailed report and multiple stakeholder interactions have been conducted to come up with recommendations to NSA

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recently revamped its National Task Force on Genomics within the broader context of Science and Data. The ongoing challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and genome-related diseases have emphasized the critical importance of genomics, not just in addressing current crises but also in fortifying our future readiness. The main aim of this Task Force is to identify key gaps areas in genomics, explore potential opportunities, and delineate projects and focus areas for collaborative initiatives. Marking a significant milestone, the first meeting of the CII National Task Force on Genomics took place successfully on October 31, 2023, at IISC Bengaluru. Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Past President, CII, Chairman, Axilor Ventures & Co-Founder, Infosys & Chairman, CII National Task Force on Genomics, shared his ambitious insights on positioning India as a Global Leader in Genomics. Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary of DBT, delivered a special address, emphasizing the potential areas of collaboration between the Research labs, Industry and Government to leverage opportunities for innovation in genomics. The meeting witnessed the participation of esteemed members from research institutes, industry, and government. It concluded with a call to action, urging members to generate ideas such as projects, training programs, capacity-building initiatives, database sharing, facilities/services/equipment collaboration in genomics, and the formulation of policy recommendations and guidelines.

NITI Aayog constituted a Task force headed by Professor Goverdhan Mehta, Chairman, National Accreditation Board of Education & Training, Quality Council of India & Chairman of Task Force, Quality Council of India with members drawn from leading scientific institutions and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to devise the framework for assessment of innovation excellence indicators of public funded R&D institutions.