President Pranab Mukherjee has said that government plans to soon initiate a nation-wide consultation process to develop the first publicly accessible science and technology policy. He said, government has taken various measures to promote scientific research such as increase in budget allocations for scientific departments, setting up of new institutions for science education and research and creation of centres of excellence for research among others. Mr Mukherjee was addressing the Infosys Prize 2015 function in New Delhi yesterday. He said, the policy 'Vision S&T 2020' will articulate the country's future towards technological independence and self-reliance in the 21st century. Mr Mukherjee said, India and Germany will soon begin a joint research in priority areas in health and biomedical sciences. Stating that technology has become an important enabler for critical services like financial inclusion and healthcare, Mr Mukherjee said the country aspires to claim a position amongst the top five scientific powers.