ESTIC 2026: Modi to Open Science Conclave at Bharat Mandapam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi at 5:30 PM on 27 October, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a PIB release. The conclave runs for three days, until 29 October, and brings scientists, researchers, policymakers, industry leaders and startups onto one platform to discuss research priorities and how lab work can reach the market.

150 Deep-Tech Startup Stalls Open to Visitors

The release lists an exhibition of indigenous scientific achievements and emerging technologies, with about 150 deep-tech startup stalls. Visitors will also find technology demonstrations, documentaries, information kiosks and augmented and virtual reality displays.

A Global Connect Networking Event will bring together more than 300 invited participants from academia, research institutions and industry in India and abroad. It is meant to support research partnerships between countries and between universities and industry.

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Second Edition, Run by CSIR with 13 Ministries

This is the second ESTIC. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) organises it under the guidance of Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, with CSIR-NIIST in Thiruvananthapuram as the nodal laboratory and 13 ministries taking part, according to a September report in Indian Pharma Post.

Union Science Minister Jitendra Singh said the first conclave was conceived to replace many scattered events with a single platform. Sood said that edition drew more than 5,000 delegates. This year’s theme is “Creative Minds, Catalyzing Science, Empowering Technologies”, and the speakers include Nobel laureates Joachim Frank, Richard J. Roberts and Kostya Novoselov.

Twelve Themes Over Three Days

Sessions are grouped under 12 thematic areas, among them artificial intelligence, biotechnology, advanced materials, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, climate and ocean sciences. The release does not announce any new scheme or funding. Modi’s address after the 5:30 PM inauguration is the first item on the programme, and the sessions continue at Bharat Mandapam until 29 October.

Bharat Mandapam also hosted the PM at the Chinmaya Mission event earlier this month; see our report on the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav, and more in Daily Updates.

Source: PIB release, Prime Minister’s Office. Also based on reporting by Indian Pharma Post and GKToday.

Image: Wikimedia Commons (file photo).