26 Aug 2016|Noida | Amity Campus Sector- 125 Noida
Seminar on “Role of Technology in Societal Development” organised by Amity Institute of Social Sciences
Amity Institute of Social Sciences organised a Seminar on “Role of Technology in Societal Development” at Amity Campus, Sector-125, Noida
The event was inaugurated by Mr.R. Saha, Former Advisor & Head, Science and Society Division, Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ms. Geeta Malhotra, Country Director, READ-India, Mr. Neeraj Sharma, Advisor & Head, Technology for Electricity Mobility Mission,Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Prof. Ajay Kapoor, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International Research Engagement & Development) Swinburne University of Technology,Australia, Dr. Tapan Sahoo, Senior Vice President(R&D), Maruti and Chair, Frontier Technology Group of SIAM and Mr. Gregory Harvey, Counsellor, Commercial and Trade Commissioner, Australian High Commission, New Delhi and Dr. Gurinder Singh-Amity Group Vice Chancellor.
During the occasion, a book entitled "The Future of Electric Vehicles inIndia-A Consumer Preference Survey" jointly authored by Prof. Ajay Kapoor, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International Research Engagement and Development), Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria,Australia, Dr. Nirupama Prakash- Director, Amity Institute of Social Sciences(AISS), Ms. Rashmi Kapoor, RA from SUT, Australia and Mr. Yashpal Malik, RA, AISS was also released.
Welcoming the distinguished gathering, Dr. Nirupama Prakash- Director, Amity Institute of Social Sciences (AISS) said that technology has become an integral part of societal development and technology shapes society and society shapes technology. The most important element in any technology, she remarked, is human spirit without which technology is redundant. She stressed that human spirit should always prevail over technology.
Talking about the book, Dr. Nirupama Prakash said that the book is a detailed exploratory research and a study based on the project (sponsored by Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) to understand consumer preferences for the use of electric vehicles in the backdrop of socio-economic variables such as gender, age, income, education and region.
Sharing his views, Mr. R. Saha,Former Advisor & Head, Science and Society Division, Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology said that today the society is technology driven and it is excessively dependant upon technology but human beings need to understand that there are lots of uncertainties associated with Technology. He remarked that there is an urgent need for developing economies to understand the importance of the advancement of technologies, which have a potential to herald an unforeseen revolution in countries.
Addressing the gathering, Prof. Ajay Kapoor, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International Research Engagement and Development), Swinburne University of Technology,Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia shared that mobility is part and parcel of life; the people of prosperous countries travel more than those of developing countries. He remarked that people across the globe face various issues related to Noise, Air Pollution and Traffic and automobile companies spend billions of dollars in research aimed at overcoming these issues. He shared that lot of money is riding on Technology and stated that inventions such as Hybrid Cars,Electric Cars and Solar Cars are very timely, aimed at making the lives of people better. Taking about the research which formed the basis of the book-"The Future of Electric Vehicles in India-A Consumer Preference Survey", he shared that it was very important to analyze the impact of the usage of electric cars in India and remarked that it will take yet another 10 years for Indian electric cars to compete with their global counterparts.
Mr. Gregory Harvey, Counsellor, Commercial and Trade Commissioner, Australian High Commission, New Delhi said that Australian Universities follow an academic culture of research combined with teaching, which is remarkably followed in Amity University in India as well. He stressed that Innovation should be given due focus in every country as it is considered a solution to many present problems. He emphasized on partnering with India through co-research by Indian and Australian Scientists and Scholars for taking scientific developments and advancements ahead, mutually benefiting both the economies.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Tapan Sahoo, Senior Vice President (R&D), Maruti and Chair, Frontier Technology Group of SIAM remarked that high acquisition cost, range anxiety and charging infrastructure are some of the challenges affecting the growth of Electric Cars in India. He called upon for developing sustainable eco-system for Hybrid as well as Electric Cars in India.Elaborating on 5E’s for the promotion of Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles in India , he shared that Enablers, Effective Systems and Solutions for India,Education of Customers, Engineers and Technicians; Energy and Enthusiasm of all stakeholders and Environment of Energy Security are required to promote Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles in India.