India-Sri Lanka Scientists’ Collaboration for a Range of Research Projects
Scientific collaborations have often led to fascinating and fruitful outcomes. Especially when it comes to a collaboration between the scientific teams of two countries with rich biodiversity worldwide, such teamwork takes place to advance research in various fields of science.
One such impending partnership is that between India and Sri Lanka. DST (Department of Science and Technology) said that a group of scientists from Sri Lanka and India would be collaborating for research in several areas ranging from communication technology and information to food science. The department further revealed that there would be 9 teams of scientists who will conduct research projects in plant-based medicine, information & communication technology, industrial electronics, robotics & automation, space research & its applications, metrology, waste management, renewable energy, and food technology.
Sri Lanka’s State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovation, and the Department of Science and Technology, India have granted joint support to the teams collaborating on this massive mission.
They have also placed a joint call for research proposals from various scientific areas. There was an inter-governmental collaboration in 2008 between Sri Lanka and India, calling out for such proposals
.The India-Sri Lanka Scientists’ Collaboration comes under the inter-governmental India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission’s sub-commission between the two nations that plan and execute operations or programs related to science and technology. It was back in 2010 November that a meeting was held by the commission in Colombo. It concluded with the understanding that a cooperative program for science and technology development would be carried out to recognize research areas of mutual interest and benefit. This includes the use of space technology from Indian satellites for societal purposes.
In response to the call for research proposals, the commission received 193 common proposals, among which there are 3 proposals for workshops that both India and Sri Lanka have decided to support. In industrial electronics, plant-based medicine, materials, and food technology, 27 joint projects for research have been given support.
