New Delhi: India will host five events in 2022 as decided in the 15th meeting of the BRICS Science Technology Innovation (STI) Steering Committee held on January 17, the Union Science and Technology Ministry said on Tuesday.

The five events that will be hosted by India are BRICS Start-Ups Forum meeting, Working Groups meetings on Energy; Biotechnology & Biomedicine; ICT & High-Performance Computing; STIEP (Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Partnership) Working Group Meeting and the launching of BRICS innovation Launchpad as a microsite (Knowledge Hub).

The BRICS STI Steering Committee meeting was attended by representatives from BRICS scientific ministries, foreign missions. From the Indian side, the meeting was led by Sanjeev Kumar Varshney, Advisor and Head International Cooperation, Department of Science and Technology.

The Calendar of BRICS STI activities was discussed at the meeting organized virtually.

Furthermore, India has successfully handed over the BRICS Chairmanship to China from January 2022.

The theme for BRICS 2022 is "Foster High-Quality BRICS Partnership Usher in a New Era for Global Development". Notably, a series of sectoral events and meetings, including Minister level and BRICS Summit, will be organized during the year.

During the meeting organized virtually, the Chinese side presented a broad outline of activities to be carried out during the whole year. It mainly includes thematic meetings, BRICS Young Scientist Conclave, Senior official, and Ministerial level meetings.

A total of 25 events have been planned, of which India will host a total of five.

Also, DPIIT is the main executing agency for BRICS start-ups Forum and the creation of innovation Knowledge Hub.

The BRICS Young Scientist Conclave will be held in September 2022 in a virtual format, and the thematic focus may be Carbon peak neutralization; Biomedicine, Artificial Intelligence, Material Science; Modern Agriculture, said the press release.

China has proposed to host the 10th BRICS S&T Ministerial meeting and Senior Official Meeting in September 2022. The meeting theme would promote Open, Inclusive, and Shared Science, Technology, and Innovation.

At the sideline of the Ministerial meeting, an exhibition will be organized showcasing outcomes of successful projects supported under the BRICS Framework Program (2015-2022).

The meeting also discussed the finalization of BRICS Calendar of scientific events and programs. It was agreed that by the end of this month, all countries will notify the specific dates, venue, and format of the meeting. India tentatively indicated a willingness to host the STIEP working group meeting on 23rd - 24th March 2022 and BRICS Start-Ups Forum Meeting in May/June 2022.