"All 37 CSIR Labs to be Turned Into Global Centers of Research & Innovation": Dr Jitendra Singh

Each of the 37 CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) Labs across the country is dedicated to a different exclusive area of work, and the "one week, one lab" campaign will allow each of them to showcase their work so that others can benefit from it and stakeholders can learn about it.

"We are also seeing the results of the scientific approach with which today's India is moving forward," Dr. Jitendra Singh said at the 108th Indian Science Congress held in Nagpur. India is quickly becoming one of the world's leading scientific nations. We were ranked 81st out of 130 countries in the Global Innovation Index until 2015. In 2022, however, we have risen to 40th place. In terms of PhDs, India is now one of the top three countries in the world. Today India is among the top three countries in the world in terms of start-up ecosystem," he added.

During the campaign, each CSIR lab will host week-long events such as an industry & start-up meet, student connect, society connect, technology display, and so on. Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that over the last decade, the CSIR has assisted the country with its first ever Biofuel-Powered Flight, Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya, asafoetida (Heeng) cultivation, indigenous development of dental implants, High-Resolution Aquifer Mapping technology, indigenously developed Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus, road construction with Steel Slag, development of CSIR - TechnoS Raman Spectrometers, the Trainer.

Dr. Jitendra Singh was pleased to note that each of the 37 CSIR laboratories is unique, specializing in fields ranging from genomics to geology, food to fuel, minerals to materials, and so on. Since the last 80 years, the CSIR has left its mark on the nation with ground-breaking technologies and innovations such as indelible ink, parallel computers, Flosolver, Swaraj Tractors, Centchroman, DNA Fingerprinting, Aroma Mission, and many others.

The Minister stated that there are numerous technologies developed for society by scientists and researchers at CSIR laboratories, but many remain confined to the laboratories. He added that there is a need to establish a resourceful network of people (stakeholders/entrepreneurs/students/industry) to learn more about technologies for advancing technology and society.

Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the campaign by inaugurating the Workshop & Exhibition on "Innovation and Sustainable Construction Materials & Technologies" organized by the CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CSIR-CBRI), Roorkee, to achieve Net Zero Emission and Zero Waste. Dr. Jitendra Singh also unveiled the logo for the CSIR's One Week One Lab Campaign at the event.

Dr. Kalaieselvi informed that the "One Week One Lab" campaign of CSIR is a way to establish the right connection and to showcase not only the technological breakthroughs & innovations in CSIR laboratories, but also Future Technologies on which CSIR labs are working. She said, the campaign will include events for Students Connect through the interaction of Scientists and researchers of the laboratories with school students, who are future Scientists, to inculcate the temper of science. The emphasis will be on existing CSIR collaborations with schools and programmes such as Jigyasa and Atal Tinkering Lab.

The campaign will also focus on academia and skill development, with interested students from various domains learning about the CSIR laboratories' research activities and facilities and making connections for future opportunities. Another campaign goal is to encourage more start-ups and entrepreneurship in the country through science dissemination and technology adoption. Industries and MSMEs Meets are intended to foster understanding between science and industry based on societal or regional needs and identify potential industries for co-development of Next Gen technologies and products. It will be an opportunity to establish government, academia, and industry networks for faster technology delivery and deployment.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India's largest publicly funded R&D organisation, was founded in 1942 and has been evolving ever since. The CSIR's hallmark has been world-class research for scientific and industrial research and development. CSIR began with 5 laboratories in 1942 and has since grown to 37 labs with 3521 scientists, 4162 technical staff, 2612 administrative & other support staff, and approximately 5500 young scholars, addressing every aspect of scientific development required in the country.