Panchkula hosts India International Science Festival 2025: hands-on science, STEM workshops, and government showcases for thousands of students.
The India International Science Festival (IISF) 2025, inaugurated on December 6, 2025, by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister (I/C) of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences (MoES), has attracted extensive participation from more than ten thousand students, highlighting its significant popularity among the youth of the nation. Students were invited to participate in an open forum with the Hon’ble Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh, to discuss a broad spectrum of topics, including socially beneficial innovations, career opportunities, and the government’s vision and priorities, particularly concerning youth.
Throughout all sessions, students were observed interacting individually with scientists and innovators, attracted to particular features such as the S&T village, Science Safari, Science on a Sphere, and exhibits displaying virtual reality excursions and live experiments. The students’ enthusiasm upon meeting India’s IAF test pilot, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, was unmatched. The youthful minds also had the opportunity to engage in discussions on forward-looking thematic areas, including Bio-Economy, Blue Economy, Waste to Wealth, Start-Ups, Emerging Technologies, Gene Editing, and Quantum.
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The attractions at IISF 2025 were designed to stimulate inquiry and deepen engagement in science and technology. The S&T village facilitated connections between students and scientists, technologists, and innovators, motivating them to engage with practical scientific applications. Science on a Sphere provided an immersive, cinematic experience, featuring a rotating globe-shaped display that exhibited high-definition visualizations of Earth’s climate and phenomena, including hurricanes and tectonic plate movements, in real-time. Science Safari was an innovative approach to disseminating scientific knowledge to children through STEM toys, educational activities, hands-on workshops, and professional development sessions for educators.
Of significant appeal were the exhibits presented by the science departments and ministries of the Government of India. The live science quizzes conducted at the DST, ICMR, and DBT pavilions, along with live experiments and displays of innovative products such as millet burgers, nutraceuticals, and lavender-based cosmetics at the CSIR pavilion, garnered significant attention. Additionally, engaging technological demonstrations at the CSIR, IUCAA, and NIF pavilions, the fossils exhibit by the GSI (Ministry of Mines), and the Virtual Reality Tour of India’s Antarctic Research Station at the NCPOR (National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research) pavilion under the Ministry of Earth Sciences were highly popular, attracting hundreds of visitors daily.
The India International Science Festival will be held at Dusshera Ground in Panchkula, Haryana, from December 6 to 9, 2025. It is an annual event organized by India’s scientific ministries and departments (CSIR, DST, DBT, and MoES) aimed at fostering scientific decorum and facilitating public outreach and engagement regarding developments in science, technology, and innovation.