Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) entered 75^th year of existence ushering in year–long Platinum Jubilee celebrations which were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the President of CSIR.

Recalling CSIR’s pioneering inventions, the Prime Minister also held an interactive session with farmers from various parts of the country and launched improved varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants, developed by various labs of CSIR which would help in transforming the rural economy by enhancing the income of farmers.

Hailing CSIR’s role in building and nurturing the nation’s scientific & technological prowess, he said that starting with the indelible ink which is the hallmark of India’s democratic fabric, CSIR has left an indelible mark on every sphere of life. He urged CSIR to create an 'Ease of doing Technology Business' platform to bring in right stakeholders so technologies reach beneficiaries. 

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is a catalyst and driver of sustainable socio-economic change through application of science and technology. CSIR has commercialized several technologies for the society and industry in the areas of food and agriculture, generic drugs, leather, chemicals and petrochemicals, biopharmaceuticals, and materials.

CSIR is recognized to be among the International leaders knowledge creation. CSIR has been ranked 12^th in the world amongst the government institutions in world according to the prestigious Scimago Institutions Rankings 2016 Report.

CSIR is granted 90% of the US patents granted to any Indian publicly funded R&D organization. The scientific staff of CSIR though constitutes only about 3-4% of India’s scientific manpower but it has an overwhelming contribution amounting to 9.6% of India’s scientific outputs.

CSIR is presently supporting around 8500 Research fellows, awarded 2251 Junior Research Fellowships and 65 Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Fellowship. CSIR is supporting more than 1000 research schemes to various universities.

CSIR is addressing national goals and Missions such as Swachh Bharat, Swastha Bharat, Samarth Bharat, Make in India, Innovate for India, Start-up India, Skill India etc.

Today, CSIR is attempting a Parivartan from Knowledge creation to Value creation. These includes emphasis on technology development and commercialization for the society, industry and the strategic sector, creation of S&T based entrepreneurship and participation in the national Skill Development initiative in addition to human resource development. Towards this, several new initiatives and policy changes are being brought in.

Some key achievements of the CSIR maturing during 2016 include:

CSIR Achievements

• CSIR’s Global Positioning as a Front Rank R&D System

CSIR has been ranked 12^th in the world amongst the government institutions in world during the said year, thus improving its previous position of being at 14^th spot for three consecutive years, according to 2016 report of the prestigious Scimago Institutions Rankings. The overall global ranking of CSIR also improved from 110 to 99^th position.

• Strategic Sector:

• Drishti Systems at Main Runway 28-10 of IGI Airport: Drishti transmissometer, a visibility measuring system provides information to pilots on visibility for safe landing and take-off operations and is suitable for all airport categories. 27 Systems installed in 10 major Indian airports across the country, in collaboration with IMD. Tata Power SED has signed Memorandum of Agreement with Tata Power SED for the supply of 54 Drishti Systems for installation in Indian Air Force Airfields; 22 units have been delivered out of which three have been installed.
• Head-Up-Display (HUD) In high-tech areas, CSIR-NAL made significant contribution by developing indigenous Head-Up- display(HUD) for Indian Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas. HUD aids the pilot in flying the aircraft and in critical flight maneuvers including weapon aiming.   
• Design and Development of Indigenous Gyrotron: Addressing the challenges of technology denial: Design and development of indigenous gyrotron for nuclear fusion reactor has been accomplished.

• Energy & Environment:

• Solar Tree: On July 22^nd a solar tree designed by CSIR- CMERI lab in Durgapur was  launched which occupies minimum space to produce clean power.  
  
  • Wax Deoiling Technology: Technology developed for recovery of wax developed in collaboration with Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd., (NRL). Country's largest wax producing (50,000 metric ton) plant has been commissioned at NRL with investment of over Rs 600 crore.
  • Simultaneous Production of US Grade Gasoline and Pure Benzene: Technology for producing US grade gasoline and pure benzene has been developed. Plant of 700,000 tonnes per annum capacity costing Rs.160 crore was commissioned at Reliance Jamnagar Refinery.
  • Lithium Ion Battery: India’s first lithium ion battery fabrication facility based on indigenous novel materials for making 4.0 V/14 h standard cells has been established. The so developed technology on the Li-ion batteries to be commercialized soon.

• Value added Agriculture:
  
  • Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Enhanced cultivation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in the country brought about through development of new varieties and agro-technologies. The estimated area under cultivation is more than 3.3 lakh hectares with an estimated value of Rs 3568 crores and generated employment of 7.31 crore mandays. India leads globally in Menthol Mint production due to CSIR efforts.
  • Samba Mahsuri Rice Variety – Bacterial Blight Resistant: CSIR has in collaboration with DRR (ICAR) and DBT part funding developed an improved bacterial blight resistant Samba Mahsuri variety. It is being cultivated in ~ 90,000 hectares in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
  • Rice Cultivar (Muktashree) for Arsenic Contaminated Areas: A rice variety has been developed which restricts assimilation of Arsenic within permissible limit. The variety has been released to farmers of West Bengal.
  • White-fly resistant Cotton variety: Developed a transgenic cotton line which is resistant to whiteflies. It is expected to render it commercially cultivable in 10 years, after due regulatory clearances.
• Healthcare:
  
  • JD Vaccine for Farm Animals: Vaccine developed and commercialized for Johne’s disease affecting Sheep, Goat, Cow and Buffalo so as to immunize them and increase milk and meat production.
  • Plasma Gelsolin Diagnostic Kit for Premature Births, and Sepsis related Deaths: A new kit is being developed to diagnose pre-mature birth and sepsis.
  • Genomics and other omics technologies for Enabling Medical Decision – GOMED: Genetic diseases, though are individually rare, cumulatively affect a large number of individuals. A programme called GOMED (Genomics and other omics technologies for Enabling Medical Decision) has been developed by the CSIR which provides a platform of disease genomics to solve clinical problems. The present portfolio includes over 80 genes and sequencing of mitochondrial loci for mitochondrial disorders. In a short span of 9 months which encompassed the proof-of-concept stage, GOMED has catered to over 600 patients from across the country.
• Food & Nutrition:
  
  • Ksheer-scanner: The Ksheer Scanner, a new technological invention by CSIR-CEERI detects the level of milk adulteration and adulterants in 45 seconds at the cost of 10 paise, thereby putting adulterators in the milk trade in notice was launched on 20^TH February. 50 systems have been deployed at diaries across Goa, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. A hand-held device “Ksheer Tester”, a mini version of Ksheer-scanner has also been developed.
  • Double-Fortified Salt: Salt fortified with iodine and iron having improved properties developed and tested for addressing anaemia in people. To be launched in the market soon.
  • Anti-obesity DAG Oil: Oil enriched with Diacylglycerol (DAG) instead of conventional triacylglycerol (TAG) developed. To be launched in the market soon.
• Water:
  
  • Aquifer Mapping of Water Scarce Areas: Heliborne transient electromagnetic and surface magnetic technique based aquifer mapping carried out in six different geological locations in Rajasthan (2), Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
  • Understanding the Special Properties of the Ganga Water: Assessment of Water Quality & Sediment Analysis of Ganga from different parts being done.

• IWaste to Wealth:

• Non-toxic Radiation Shielding Material for X-ray Protection: Non-toxic radiation shielding materials utilizing industrial waste like red mud (from aluminum industries) and fly ash (Thermal Power Plants) developed which has been accredited by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for application in diagnostic X-Ray rooms.
• Waste Plastic to Fuel: Process for conversion of waste plastics to gasoline/diesel or aromatics developed.

• Skill development: CSIR is building a structured large scale Skill development Initiative using the state of the art infrastructure and human resources of CSIR. About 30 High Tech Skill/Training programmes are being launched for imparting skills to over 5000 candidates annually. The skill development programmes cover the following areas: Leather process Technology; Leather Footwear & Garments; Paints & coatings for corrosion protection; Electroplating & Metal Finishing; Lead Acid Battery maintenance; Glass Beaded Jewellery / Blue Pottery; Industrial Maintenance Engineering; Internet of Things (IoT); and Regulatory – Preclinical Toxicology.

Recently an Agreement has been signed between CSIR and Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Caste Co-operative Finance Corporation Ltd. (APSCCFC) for Skill training and Entrepreneurship in Leather Sector. The initiative is set to benefit 10,000 Scheduled Caste Candidates from Andhra Pradesh, creating income generation assets to the households and thus enabling social and economic development. An investment of Rs. 30.00 Crore is being made by APSCCFC in next 2-3 years.

CSIR’s participation in the India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan marked showcasing of various technologies in healthcare, leather, petrochemicals, aeronautical engineering, drinking water, solar power, and energy and agricultural sector. The CSIR pavilion bagged the Gold medal among all government ministries and departments.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), a constituent lab of CSIR, organized the India International Science Festival, (IISF) which brought together more than 500 Einstein enthusiasts in the iconic scientist’s trademark garb, complete with his wig and moustache. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Science and Technology Dr. Harshvardhan were prominent visitors to the festival with its focus on “Science for the Masses”.