India-US need to collaborate on renewable energy:Harsh Vardhan

Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan today said India and the US need to come together to work on developing renewable energy sources to develop cost effective and efficient products.
The Minister was speaking at the India-US technology Summit organised by the Department of Science and Technology, the US Department of State and industry body CII, a statement said.
Harsh Vardhan observed that the two countries are already working together in areas of health and biomedical sciences, food security, clean energy, integrated water management and weather forecasting, it added.
New collaborative R&D programmes on low cost diagnostics, next generation vaccines, brain research, cancer research, high energy physics, and emerging materials were on the anvil.

The Minister highlighted the need to collaborate in the field of renewable energy to develop cost-effective and efficient products that will have wider access and minimum carbon imprint, the statement added.
He said there is a need to develop an innovative clean technology development and deployment Fund using a consortia approach and PPP model, it added.

Harsh Vardhan stated that Indian Government is expected to invest in renewable energy projects in a major way over the next 5 years alone and invited US companies to take advantage of this opportunity, it said.
CII President Ajay Shriram said US and India have natural synergies in terms of capability, innovation, technology, hardware and software, which they must jointly leverage.

He called on US companies to invest in India's high technology sector.