Government Launches WISE-KIRAN Initiative to Empower Women in Science and Engineering

Government Launches WISE-KIRAN Initiative to Empower Women in Science and Engineering

Last Updated Feb - 09 - 2024, 06:49 PM | Source : The Indian Express | Visitors : 138

The Department of Science and Technology introduces the WISE-KIRAN initiative to empower women in the Science & Technology (S&T) field.

The Department of Science and Technology is putting into effect a comprehensive initiative called Women in Science and Engineering-KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN) to give women in the Science & Technology (S&T) field a variety of possibilities through various programs.

These programs include the Women Scientists Scheme, which aims to support women scientists who have taken a career break; the WISE Fellowship for PhD (WISE-PhD), which supports doctoral research in basic and applied sciences; the WISE-Post Doctoral Fellowship (WISE-PDF), which supports post-doctoral research in basic and applied sciences; the WISE-SCOPE, which addresses societal challenges through S&T interventions; and the WIDUSHI, which helps senior women scientists continue their scientific careers.

Another government initiative is 'WISE Internship in IPR (WISE IPR)', which offers training in the field of Intellectual Property Rights. Moreover, another unique program, 'Vigyan Jyoti', began in the year 2020, aims to encourage meritorious girls to pursue a career in underrepresented areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

As per the data provided by the government, presently, around 21600 female students of Class 9-12 from 250 districts of the country are enrolled under this programme. Various year-round activities viz parent-student counselling, career counselling, special academic classes, tinkering activities, role model interactions, lab/industry visits, science camps, etc. are being conducted under this programme.

The Vigyan Jyoti Programme provides a one-year scholarship to females in Class 12. Since its commencement in 2020, a total of Rs 5841.08 lakh in scholarships have been granted to female students.

In 2020-21, female students received a total of Rs 600 lakh in scholarships, followed by Rs 971.52 lakh in 2021-22, Rs 2178.96 lakh in 2022-23, and Rs 2090.60 lakh in 2023-24.

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