Kovind bats for gender equity in technology

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday called for gender equity in technology production and technology sharing as well as the entry of more women in the innovation space.

"Gender equity must be integrated with technology production and technology sharing. We need more of our daughters and more of our country's young women to enter the technology and innovation space.

"Those who are already working here are doing a remarkable job, but their numbers need to improve urgently," Kovind said at an event organised here to celebrate National Technology Day, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998.

The President dedicated the 1998 nuclear tests' success to former President and scientist Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam "who led a dedicated scientific team that made preparations for the Pokhran tests" and the leadership and courage of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He said that the success was a demonstration of "both scientific capacity and political will" of the country and that the Vajpayee government's "bold" decision shaped India's foreign policy of the future.

"In 1998, the government of the day took the bold decision to go ahead with the tests -- and reposition India on the global stage. Those tests had a far-reaching impact on how the world came to see India -- and on our foreign policy, our strategic relations and eventually our international technological collaborations," the President added.

--IANS

nks/tsb/bg