Dr. B. Mario Pinto (left) and Professor Ashutosh Sharma. Looking on are the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, and the Honourable Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science and Technology (India)

November 14, 2017 New Delhi, India – Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science and Technology, and Dr. B. Mario Pinto, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), today signed an MoU that will facilitate continued innovative partnerships between Canadian and Indian researchers.

This follows on the Government of Canada’s commitment to extend funding by $8.2 million over three years to the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS) through the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program. Chaired by Dr. Pinto, the NCE is a joint initiative of NSERC, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

With its new funds, IC-IMPACTS will be able to continue supporting teams of researchers and organizations in the two countries for knowledge mobilization, research exchanges, training opportunities, and partnerships with business and other knowledge users in the areas of data analytics, big data, portable diagnostics, water treatment, infrastructure safety, and low-cost building materials.

Since its launch in 2013, IC-IMPACTS has developed 38 research projects that have resulted in 16 technology deployments in Canada and India. These include new pavement materials that use significantly less material and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and innovative small-scale water treatment plants for deployment in remote Indigenous communities in Canada.

“IC-IMPACTS has shown dramatic success in both establishing a strong international bond between Canadian and Indian researchers, and their students, while at the same time developing solutions to real-world problems by engaging local community representatives, industry, and not-for-profits. I am confident in the future success of IC-IMPACTS, given the enduring bilateral ties between our two countries and the strong support that the network has received from the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology.”
- Dr. B. Mario Pinto, Chair of the NCE Steering Committee

“The IC-IMPACTS program has provided a unique model of collaboration to promote India-Canada multidisciplinary research partnerships that are aimed to deliver practical solutions through application of science and technology.”
- Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science and Technology

“Since its beginnings in 2013, IC-IMPACTS is now recognized as a very successful model for international research collaborations, innovative HQP training, respectful community engagement, and creation of technologies that promote international trade.”
- Dr. Nemy Banthia, CEO and Scientific Director, IC-IMPACTS