New Delhi, Jul 19 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the Government’s priority in the science and technology sector was 'to apply science to solve our country’s problems'. Expressing confidence in the abilities of Indian scientists to rise to the challenges and provide solutions to improve the lives of the common man in India, the Prime Minister asked them to draw up clear targets to be achieved by 2022, the 75th year of Independence. He was speaking at a meeting with top scientific officials of the Government of India who briefed him on progress in various areas of scientific research. Present at today's meeting were among others Dr VK Saraswat – Member, NITI Aayog; Dr R Chidambaram – Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India; and Secretaries related to scientific departments in the Union Government. Mr Modi, giving the example of talent spotting in sports, said that mechanisms should be made to identify the brightest and best science talent among school students. 'Science, technology and innovation are the keys to progress and prosperity of India,' he pointed out. He noted that a lot of innovation was happening at the grassroots level. Urging officials to break silos, Mr Modi strongly emphasised that a mechanism should be formed to document and replicate successful innovations at the grassroots level. In this context, he also mentioned innovations being done by defence personnel. In the agriculture sector, he identified high-protein pulses, fortified foods, and value addition in castor, as priority areas which needed to be speeded up. In the energy sector, the 'possibilities of solar energy should be pursued to the maximum, to reduce dependence on energy imports,' he further said, according to an official release. UNI SD RSA SNU 1509