 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand){kind=link}
JUNE 04: NITI Aayog hosted the Second National Consultative Meeting on Ease of Doing R&D at the CSIR–Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, on June 4, 2025. Building upon discussions from the first dialogue held in May 2025 at Raj Bhawan, Lucknow, this meeting represents a key step in NITI Aayog’s broader initiative to reform India’s research and development (R&D) ecosystem.
The two-day event was chaired by Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member of NITI Aayog, and witnessed participation from prominent figures in the scientific community. Notable attendees included Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General of CSIR and Secretary, DSIR; Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, President of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA); Dr. Harender Singh Bisht, Director, CSIR-IIP; and Prof. Vivek Kumar Singh, Senior Adviser at NITI Aayog.
The inaugural session opened with a thematic overview by Prof. Singh, focusing on the pillars of institutional agility, innovation-oriented governance, and the need for stronger industry-academia linkages.
In his address, Dr. Saraswat called for transforming R&D institutions into autonomous, mission-driven entities. He emphasized the removal of bureaucratic hurdles, timely access to funding, and a shift to performance-based accountability to empower scientific work. Stressing decentralization, he reaffirmed NITI Aayog’s commitment to continuous stakeholder engagement and evidence-driven policymaking.
Dr. Kalaiselvi highlighted the urgent need to revitalize R&D infrastructure, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 institutions. She advocated for deeper collaboration between government, academia, and industry to produce research that directly serves India’s innovation and development needs.
Prof. Ashutosh Sharma added a human-centered perspective, stressing trust in researchers, reduced micromanagement, and flexible career paths to retain emerging talent. He emphasized creating an enabling ecosystem that fosters creativity and mentorship, especially for young scientists.
The consultative meeting will continue on June 4 with deep-dives into critical areas such as researcher mobility, translational research, public-private partnerships, and governance reforms aimed at positioning India as a global R&D hub.