Inaugurating the “XXVII International Congress on Glass (ICG), 2025” at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre here today, Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh highlighted India’s technology driven rapid ascent in the last one decade since Prime Minister took over in 2014.
The ICG 2025 is being organised from January 20-24, 2025 by CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI). Dr Jitendra Singh said these are better times for science in India as the country is on an ascent, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been an enabler.
The minister said that India, unlike in the past, is not following cues₹0 from other countries but is leading the way and setting examples in science and technology and other sectors. He cited the notable example of ISRO’s landing near the Moon’s southern pole and the Bio E3 policy.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the journey towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat in 2047 will be mostly technology driven. The Minister stressed on the importance of synergy across academia and the industry and said that the ultimate goal of science is to improve ease of living.
To highlight initiatives to this end, Dr Jitendra Singh spoke about the “one week, one theme” programmes for CSIRs in line with the “one week, on lab” theme in the past, which promoted such interactions and synergy.
Highlighting the wide and pervasive use of glass in daily life, Dr jitendra Singh said that the sector is now taking off in a new way, with glass being an important component for space, atomic energy, optics and defence sectors.
He reiterated the significance of glass in this age, stating, “glass has indeed broken the glass ceiling”. Dr Singh also spoke about the reusability and commercial potential of glass.
Eminent figures from the global glass community including the president of International Commission on Glass and professor at the University of Tokyo, Hiroyuki Inoue were present on the occasion, besides, Director, CSIR-CGCRI, Professor Bikramjit Basu. The ICG 2025 will host over 550 delegates, including 150 international participants.