The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in a unique move, created the first of its kind initiative involving all the IITs and IISCs of the country. The project will address the major engineering challenges the country must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
The project aptly called IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology or IMPRINT will address 10 Technology Domains as grand engineering challenges.
The project, created at the behest of HRD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani, in the first phase defines two-fold mandate of a) developing new engineering education policy and b) creating a road map including infrastructure readiness to address the challenges.
The domains and coordinators of IMPRINT, steered by IIT Kanpur (as the national coordinator), are:
- Health care: IIT Kharagpur
- Information and Communication Technology: IIT Kharagpur
- Energy: IIT Bombay
- Sustainable Habitat: IIT Roorkee
- Nano-technology Hardware: IIT Bombay
- Water Resources and River systems: IIT Kanpur
- Advanced Materials: IIT Kanpur
- Manufacturing: IIT Madras
- Security and Defence: IIT Madras
- Environmental Science and Climate Change: IISc, Bangalore
Project IMPRINT is launched by President Pranab Mukherjee on November 5, 2015 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.
Addressing the occasion, the President said that it is a proud moment for all of the citizens that Indian universities are now been in the top 200 in the world — with Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore at rank 147 and IIT Delhi at 179.
The President said it is necessary to develop in our students a scientific temper, which allows the flight of imagination beyond the realm of grades and classrooms.
“Promotion of research at the undergraduate level would assist such an objective. The link between progress and innovation is direct. History is witness to many nations low on resources emerging as advanced economies only on the strength of rapid technological development,” he said.
