Thailand 4.0 to be concretely moved forward

BANGKOK, January 3 (TNA) - The Ministry of Science and Technology is driving forward the Thailand 4.0 Policy concretely as assigned by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha (ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา). Science and Technology Minister Suvit Maesincee told journalists of the move on Wednesday, acknowledging that his ministry directly involves in materializing the government's Thailand 4.0 Policy. Suvit said the Thailand 4.0 Policy is mainly aimed to reduce the disparity in the country, enhance national competitiveness and further develop national human resources in the 21st century. According to the minister, his ministry has first launched an organizational reform at the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) by eliminating the restrictions on recruiting its new staff members by no higher than 30 per cent in order to solve the problem of its personnel shortage and on joining forces with other agencies to conduct research projects for commercial purposes no higher than 49 per cent in order to produce more research projects. Besides, his ministry is hiring more foreign researchers for shared knowledge and experiences to their Thai counterparts in order to enhance competitiveness of the Thai research sector in the future. The minister announced that his ministry is also launching campaigns and measures together with universities and the private sector to inspire more Thai youths to study in science and technological courses in which they can develop their scientific thoughts and ideas to support the Thailand 4.0 Policy. (TNA)