Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Marcos Pontes said on Monday (Feb. 21) during an interview with TV Brasil program Uncensored, the National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs) shall receive around BRL 280 million ($ 54,9 million dollars) in funds for research.
According to Pontes, this amount is part of the more than BRL 1 billion ($ 196 million dollars) invested in the sector in 2022. The minister also informed that another BRL 250 million ($ 49 million dollars) shall be made available to finance various lines of study at the Research Productivity (RP) level. Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI) has a total of 130 INCTs with a gap of 30% in their budget.
There are more than 70,000 idle vacancies in activities related to information and communication technology (ICT), and the Ministry offers courses and workshops to those interested in joining the sector, the minister said.
During the interview Pontes also talked about the production of vaccines, medicines and medical supplies in Brazil. He stressed the importance of being autonomous regarding their production and promoting scientific research in the country. “We have the strategy of making the country independent in the production of vaccines. If the planet doesn’t sell vaccines to us, we can sell vaccines to the planet. We shall also reduce Brazil’s dependence on medicine imports,” he stated.
Minister Pontes also informed he invited billionaire Richard Branson from Virgin Galactic – a company that offers orbital flights to tourists – to set up a launch center in Brazil.
Source: Agência Brasil