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Demand to scrap NITI Ayog poll-itically motivated: V K Saraswat

Sarawat expressed his views on the sidelines of an award distribution ceremony by the National Resource Development Centre (NRDC) at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

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Amid political statements of shutting down NITI Aayog and reinventing it, V K Saraswat, member of NITI Aayog said that it is a great institution and it is normal that such statements are made during elections. Sarawat expressed his views on the sidelines of an award distribution ceremony by the National Resource Development Centre (NRDC) at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

"This is election time. You cannot debate on such issues," said Saraswat while interacting with media persons at EDII. The former head of Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) said that NITI Aayog is a great institution and has done some wonderful work in areas of economy, health, innovation, Artificial Intelligence, energy, and many other since its inception in late 2014. "The small team is being able to do very creative work and is acting as a think-tank for the government," he said.

On the issue of protection of an individual's privacy with regard to Aadhar, Saraswat said that NITI Aayog is working with various organizations on cyber security, protection of digital signatures, and safeguarding the privacy of an individual. "We have stipulated a need to have certain privacy laws to balance privacy and transparency, as well as access authentication," he said.

While delivering his lecture during the award function, he said that most start-ups or innovative ideas do not reach the next level for the lack of a support system. "This is called 'Valley of Death'. Here an innovator needs financial support, mentorship and peer support. We need a good ecosystem to full him out of the Valley of Death and reach the state of commercialization," he said. On some of the major mistakes innovators make, he said that, they feel a sense of achievement when the make a proof-of-concept, while reality is that actual journey begins from here.

He advocated higher cooperation and coordination between academia to encourage innovation as both the sectors do not have an idea of how the other sector works. "There should be some framework where a professor can work with the industry for a few years and can rejoin teaching. Similarly, more industry persons should train students," he said citing examples of IIT-Madras, IIT-Bombay and even new IITs like the one in Gandhinagar.

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