Fourth All Science and Technology Clusters' Meet held at Panjab University, Chandigarh

10 October 2026

Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, chaired the Fourth All Science and Technology Clusters' Meet on 9 and 10 October 2026 at Panjab University, Chandigarh.
The meet was hosted by PI-RAHI, the PU-IIT Ropar Regional Accelerator for Holistic Innovations Foundation.
Representatives of all eight S&T Clusters took part, including the Pune Knowledge Cluster, DRIIV of Delhi, the Bengaluru Science and Technology Cluster and the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad.
Prof. Sood said the clusters are increasingly acting as National Technology Accelerators and called for stronger inter-cluster collaboration.
The clusters hold 12 international MoUs, and a collaboration with the UK Catapult Network in healthcare, emerging technologies and net-zero technologies was announced.
Launches at the meet included an Automatic Weather Station, the Kalaanubhav portal for artisan crafts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, SPARKS 2.0, IGNITE 2.0 and GINI 2.0.
The EVChargex battery-swapping station at Panchkula was presented as moving indigenous battery-swapping technology from pilot to commercial use.
A Digital Podiatric Clinic using AI-powered foot screening for diabetic foot conditions was inaugurated at the Panjab University Health Centre.
The S&T Clusters programme was conceived in 2020 on the recommendations of the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council.