India offers doctoral fellowships for African students

NEW DELHI: India today offered doctoral fellowships for African students in its bid to spur innovation even as it sought greater collaboration among scientists in developing countries.

"We, together, could break new paths of technological development," Science and Technology Minister Vayalar Ravi said addressing the 12th General Conference of Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) held in Tianjin, China.

Ravi made a strong pitch for collaborative excellence in science, technology and innovation (STI) sector among developing countries.

"We may need to explore path breaking steps in the STI sector. I see a value for inter-connecting some of our STI landscapes and research resources as well as collaborations among our scientists," he said.

Optimising research resources for discovering new scientific solutions and affordable innovations for inclusive growth would call for greater level of collaboration among the developing nations, he said.

Ravi noted that the TWAS has approached Ministry of Science and Technology for supporting Doctoral Fellowship Program in India for African students, in association with African Development Bank.

"While this proposal is under examination, I am favourably inclined to this proposition," he said.