New Delhi: Union Science and Technology Miniser Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday announced that the upcoming India International Science Fest (IISF) will focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a "Cashless Society".
"All transactions at the fest will be cashless," the minister said.
The IISF will be held here December 7-11 December here. Israeli Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis will pay special visit to the fest, which will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on December 8.
Harsh Vardhan added that beside a cashless economy, the theme of this year's fest would be "science for masses".
"Emphasis would be to take science to the rural areas," he saide.
The budget of the festival has been increased to Rs 12 crore this year compared to last year's Rs 4 crore.
The minister informed that over 3,000 students from the villages adopted by MPs will also participate in the fest.
The fest also sees to break its own world record of maximum number of students performing a scientific experiment. Total 2,500 children will be perform a scientific experiment to break its previous record of 2,000 students. The record was first held by Northern Ireland, with 1300 students performing a scientific experiment.
"We are a government that believes and supports scientific research, including an appropriate balance between fundamental research to support new discoveries and the commercialization of ideas, will lead to provide an ample employment opportunities for India's sustainable economic growth," said Harsh Vardhan.