Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2021-03-08

Institutionalisation of the National Innovation Agency (NIA)

- In view of coordinating the Ministries, Institutions and the Private sector for creating, improving and sustaining a national innovation eco-system and providing support required for the relevant innovations from idea to market, the National Innovation Agency (NIA) has been established by the Parliamentary Act, No.22 of 2019. Institutionalisation of the NIA has been recognized as a priority task of the State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Education. Approval has been granted by the Cabinet in 2017 to formulate a Bill for establishing the Coordinating Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI), which has been set up for the Science, Technology and Innovation related tasks and functions under the said State Ministry, as the National Science Technology and Innovation Coordinating Authority (NASTICA). The aims and functions of the proposed NASTICA are also more similar to the functions of the NIA. As such, the proposal made by the Minister of Education to suspend the establishment of the said Authority and to institutionalise the NIA by using funds and other resources allocated for the COSTI, was approved by the Cabinet.