New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the programme marking National Technology Day 2023 in New Delhi this morning.

With this, the programme also marked the commencement of the celebration of the 25th year of National Technology Day, which will be held from May 11 to 14. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh were also in attendance at the event.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple projects related to scientific and technological advancement in the country, worth more than Rs. 5,800 crore.

The projects for which the foundation stone was laid include Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory-India (LIGO-India), Hingoli; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jatni, Odisha; and Platinum Jubilee Block of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.

The inauguration of these programmes and the laying of the foundation stones of several Cancer Hospitals will enhance the provisioning of world-class cancer care in several regions of the country, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in an official statement.

Last month, the Union Cabinet gave its nod to a project to construct and set up a LIGO-India at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,600 crore which is likely to be completed by 2030.

LIGO-India will be an advanced gravitational-wave observatory to be located in India as part of a worldwide network. It is envisaged as a collaborative project between a consortium of Indian research institutions and the LIGO Laboratory in the USA, along with its international partners.

LIGO-India had received the Government’s in-principle approval in February 2016. Since then, the project reached several milestones towards selecting and acquiring a site and building the observatory.

The celebration of National Technology Day was started by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 to honour Indian scientists, engineers and technologists, who worked for India’s scientific and technological advancement and ensured the successful conduct of Pokhran tests in May 1998.

Since then, National Technology Day is observed every year on May 11. It is celebrated with a new and different theme every year. This year’s theme is ‘School to Startups – Igniting Young Minds to Innovate’.

Today’s programme that marks National Technology Day 2023 has a special objective on Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). The AIM Pavilion will feature numerous innovative projects as well as provide an opportunity for visitors to see live tinkering sessions, witness outstanding innovations, engage in tinkering activities and showcase products by start-ups.