Dr B Thomas (Special correspondent)
K
arnataka is set to be the first state in the country to have an exclusive Research and Development Policy.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who chaired a meeting with the Task Force headed by Prof.Ashok Shettar and senior officials regarding formulation of the new policy,instructed the officials to prepare the necessary systems for effective implementation of the proposed policy.
The Chief Minister obtained details about the progress on formulation of the new R & D policy from the Task Force Chairman and said the state had immense potential to attain greater heights in R & D.
The proposed policy should be simple.Any R & D is considered worthy only when it is found useful in the daily life of the people. It should cater to all the sectors, Bommai said.
The Chief Minister wanted the setting up of a state level R & D Council and Foundation as a supplementary initiative for implementation of the proposed policy.The policy would be cleared after discussing it in the state cabinet, he said.
IT, BT minister CN Ashwathnarayan,CM’s Principal Secretary N Manjunath, Additional Chief Secretary in the Industries department EV Ramana Reddy and others were also present.
