Ranchi, Nov. 7: Chief minister Arjun Munda will meet Sam Pitroda, advisor to the Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovations, tomorrow to seek his guidance on formulating complementary policies in Jharkhand.

Munda’s meeting with Pitroda, who is head of the National Innovation Council, is scheduled for 2pm. He will be accompanied by two senior IAS officers, planning secretary Avinash Kumar and Delhi resident commissioner Rajeev Kumar.

“I am leaving for Delhi to meet Pitroda tomorrow to seek his suggestions on how to promote and sustain innovations in the state,” chief minister told The Telegraph before leaving for Delhi this afternoon.

Planning secretary Kumar, speaking over telephone from Delhi, said the state formed a State Innovations Council yesterday after receiving a letter to that effect from the National Innovation Council.

“Our chief minister would be heading (as chairman) the council which would have eight members drawn from various fields, including industry, academics, and non-government organisations,” he said.

The council, he added, would also have chief secretary and development commissioner as members. Science and technology minister will be vice-chairman.

The idea behind a innovation council was to promote, replicate and sustain any kind of research/innovation in the state either by an industry or an academic or even a local villager who is usually a repository of traditional knowledge.

Jharkhand hopes Pitroda, widely acclaimed for India’s communications revolution, would help the state in making the council function effectively.

The state government was also studying options of including experts from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT)-Mesra, Tata Steel, research and development wing of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in Ranchi, among other institutions or companies, as members of the council.

As of now, BIT-Mesra and a few individuals are known to own a few patents.

Kumar said the council would first try and promote noble ideas in the state’s colleges and universities wherein students and teachers would be promoted for pursuing utility research.

At present, research facilities and activities in the five state universities are in a shambles. The office of the governor, who is chancellor of all universities, has been asking the educational institutions to encourage independent research, but so far none of these have managed to create a conducive environment for that.