New Delhi: With the country moving towards clean fuels, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday urged IITians to focus their research on the use of biotechnology for the production of bio-CNG, bio-LNG, and green hydrogen from biomass. Green hydrogen will be used in various industries like chemicals, fertilizers, and also in the transportation sector in the future, Mr. Gadkari said, urging the young engineering man-power of the country to do research on manufacturing green hydrogen from electrolysis of sewage water and bio-digestion of organic wastes.

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This will also help municipalities of the country in implementing the 'Swachh Bharat Mission' along with value-addition in the form of waste to wealth, the minister said while speaking at Alankar-2022, a global leadership summit organized by Shailesh J Mehta School of Management in IIT Bombay. "We require prioritizing needs-based research... research should come up with import substitute, cost-effective, pollution free, indigenous solutions. We need to identify the commodities being imported into the country and then focus on developing 'Swadeshi' alternatives for those. This will lead to a decrease in imports, increase in exports and making our economy stronger," the minister said.

Proven technology, economic viability, availability of raw materials, and marketability should be considered for all research projects, Mr. Gadkari added. The minister also said 65 percent of the country's population depends on agriculture, though agriculture GDP is only 12 percent. He urged the IITians to focus on research for forest-based industries, agriculture and rural technology, and tribal sectors in those districts.

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"We need to identify the rural, agricultural raw materials which have the potential to bring about a revolution. It will bring about a lot of development and create employment opportunities," he added. Stating that research organizations should not work in silos, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari urged that research papers should be made public.

"This calls for cooperation, coordination, and communication between the stakeholders," he added. A lot of successful start-ups have started from IITs, Gadkari said, adding that young talents should focus their research more on the upliftment of villages, poor, workers, and farmers. "Work to develop technologies to bring an end to poverty, hunger, and unemployment in the country, because that will be beneficial to the country for socio-economic transformation," he added.

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