Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (IC), Ministry of Science & Technology will inaugurate the First International Conference on Science & Technology (S&T) Clusters – “Making Lives Easier through S&T”, on 4 - 5th December 2025 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (DAIC), New Delhi.

The conference is organized by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India and will witness participation from around 30 countries. The conference aims to foster global collaborations in the Science & Technology ecosystem.  

The event will bring together senior government representatives, diplomats, policymakers, leading scientists, industry leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Key discussions will focus on how S&T innovations are being deployed to address pressing societal challenges, along with demonstrations of impactful, scalable solutions developed across the S&T clusters. 

The S&T Clusters initiative is a flagship program of OPSA designed to bring together academia, industry, startups, and government agencies to co-create science and technology driven solutions for region-specific and national challenges. Under this initiative, eight clusters have been established across India, including RICH (Hyderabad), JCKIC (Jodhpur), PKCF (Pune), DRIIV (Delhi), BCKIC (Bhubaneshwar), BeST (Bengaluru), PI-RAHI (Northern Region), and Vizag S&T Cluster.  

Science and Technology clusters, a flagship initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, was conceived on the recommendation of the Prime Minister's Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) chaired by the PSA on finding solutions to regional problems through S&T interventions by bringing together academia, industry, startups, and government. This concept manifests taking up those problems only for which there is a taker of the solution, and which otherwise could not be solved by entities working in silos.  

The S&T clusters represent a strategic leap toward fostering innovation, collaboration, and excellence in the realm of science and technology. Five of the eight currently established clusters have completed their first phase, which focused mainly on the bottom two tiers. They are now in their 2nd phase, with increased emphasis on global cooperation. The newer clusters also have global cooperation among their priorities. 

These clusters across India are catalyzing innovation in diverse sectors, including healthtech, smart agriculture, environmental sustainability, and industrial automation. Some of the notable outcomes of the clusters include the facilitation of EV charging infrastructure in Delhi/NCR, the launch of AR/VR-enabled artisan marketplace "Kalaanubhav.in"," and the "One Delhi" digital transit app with over 3 lakh users. Health-tech innovations like diabetic foot screening foot-mats, One Health initiatives, waterbody rejuvenation efforts, e-waste management systems, and the development of pacemaker leads at AMTZ Vizag further demonstrate the scalable, high-impact nature of these collaborative solutions.