India, US to further science-tech collaboration

India and the United States plan to increase their bilateral collaboration in science and technology to boost innovation in clean energy and high technology, as well as spur economic growths in both countries.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Monday that officials from both countries said there was a need to accelerate cooperation and collaborative projects given the significant progress made thus far in science and technology. The officials had gathered at the India-U.S. Joint Commission meeting held on the sidelines of the third India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue in Washington, the report added.

According to PTI, the meeting was co-chaired by John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who said the degree of progress reflected that both U.S. President Barack Obama and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appreciated the importance of science, technology and innovation with regard to the environment, clean energy and well-being of their citizens.

"I am happy to report that the bilateral relations have increased measurably in the areas of maritime, agriculture and biodiversity, basic and applied sciences, advanced telecommunications, energy and commercialization of new technologies," Holdren said.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, the Indian Minister of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences who co-chaired the meeting, said the countries' relationship in research and development (R&D) for science and technology were being strengthened, PTI reported. "We look forward to the recommendations of [Joint Commission] on basic and applied sciences, health and medical sciences; and atmospheric sciences."

The Indian minister added that there remained new opportunities for India and the U.S. to "work more closely and effectively" to fulfill their common aspirations in science and technology, the report said.

The U.S. last week said it would work with India to come up with rules for online security, with the country's defense secretary Leon Panetta describing its cooperation with India as a "linchpin" in its overall security strategy.