About CSIR-ISTAD

The International S&T Affairs Directorate (ISTAD) located at the CSIR Head Quarters, New Delhi spearheads CSIR's linkages with international scientific & technical agencies abroad for carrying out collaborative and contract research in frontier areas of science and technology. ISTAD has been playing a pivotal role in identifying and nurturing CSIR's global partnerships in the cutting edge areas of research and development which span more than 46 world class agencies across 35 countries around the globe.

CSIR-ISTAD Mission Statement

“To develop and execute a focused, proactive and sustainable approach for international S&T collaborations that would maximize the intellectual benefits to CSIR and it’s people for catalyzing industrial & societal development and enhance CSIR’s business portfolio & potential thereby positioning CSIR internationally as a major provider of S&T expertise/services for the developing and least developed countries and building bridges of friendships internationally through science and technology (S&T) diplomacy.”

CSIR-ISTAD Mandate

The functions of the CSIR - International S&T Affairs Directorate (CSIR-ISTAD) inter alia include

• Acting as a nodal point for positioning CSIR in the international S&T arena;
• Facilitating transfer of CSIR knowhow and technologies abroad especially in the neighboring countries and the developing countries for creating solutions for common good;
• Reinforcing S&T base in the developing countries by providing advanced explore/training as well as research and higher education opportunities to their researchers;
• Assisting CSIR in making its scientific & technological knowledgebase internationally competitive through building international scientific and technological networking and collaborations, twinning of institutions and similar other initiatives;
• Assisting CSIR system in scouting for, and pinpointing, the very latest of internationally competitive scientific and technological advances and breakthroughs of relevance to India, that should mold, shape and energize CSIR’s current and future research and development initiatives;
• Building and fortifying bridges of understanding between CSIR and its major overseas science & technology partners to develop synergies and leverage CSIR’s capabilities in core areas of S&T;
• Generating additional resources for CSIR through international project funding;
• Vitalizing CSIR’s inputs through engineered training and retraining of its scientists in core sectors and at the same time helping exploit the enormous trainer potential of the CSIR laboratories to forge and reinforce international partnerships.

International Cooperation Activities of CSIR

CSIR promotes international S&T networking with a belief that sharing of knowledge is like international trade; both parties benefit and the total amount of knowledge exchanged is greater than the sum of knowledge actually exchanged. ISTAD plays a key role to foster and expand CSIR’s international partnerships by initiating new cooperation tools with leading international agencies across the globe, managing / supporting collaborative projects, joint / international workshops and conferences, training programs and facilitating networking through scientific visits of CSIR delegations / scientists abroad and of foreign delegations / researchers to CSIR and its research institutes.

International S&T cooperation activities of ISTAD could be divided into three broad categories, viz i) Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation; ii) International Benchmarking through Awards and Fellowships to International Peers; and iii) Human Resource Capacity Building through international exposure to CSIR scientists and technologists.

The international scientific and technological collaboration activities, both bilateral and multilateral, are pursued through the following modes:

• Exchange of scientists, research scholars and specialists for the purpose of research, training, consultation and exchange of expertise.
• Organization of bilateral scientific and technical seminars / workshops / conferences and courses on problems of mutual interest to both countries.
• Joint identification of scientific and technical problems, formulation and implementation of joint research programs in select areas of science and technology. Exchange of knowledge, expertise and know-how resulting from the collaborative programs.
• Setting up of joint ventures, joint laboratories or pilot stations.
• Conducting joint studies.
• Exchange of scientific and technical information and documentation.

CSIR through ISTAD has concluded umbrella MoUs/Agreements with several of the world’s leading scientific agencies for bilateral and multilateral cooperation. These MoUs and Agreements along with the Working Documents, provide broad guidelines for execution of international cooperation. The active corporate level Cooperation Arrangements of CSIR with Foreign R&D Organizations are listed below:

Bilateral cooperation is implemented mainly through joint research projects with CSIR primarily funding exchange visits in accordance with the MoU/Agreement. In addition, training programs / workshops / seminars are organized jointly by CSIR and the collaborating agencies.

Of the 46 above listed collaborations at least 22 cooperation programs are under active execution. Effort is being made towards reactivating some of the not so active existing cooperation arrangements. In addition, new mutually beneficial linkages with potential global partners are being explored and pursued.

In addition to the above mentioned collaborations, CSIR and its institutes have program / sector specific bilateral cooperation MoUs with many leading institutions abroad. One such example is the MoU between CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and Vietnam’s National Institute of Medicinal Materials.

Also, CSIR–ISTAD manages participation of CSIR institutes in many multilateral cooperation programs. One of the ways for implementing and supporting multilateral cooperation is CSIR’s membership in the multilateral S&T organizations and networks. CSIR is presently a member of Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre) and the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO). CSIR - ISTAD makes annual subscription to these international agencies. ISTAD encourages participation of CSIR institutes in the multilateral/regional programs under ASEAN, BRICS, BIMSTEC, EU, G8, G20, IBSA, SCO and Commonwealth frameworks. CSIR institutes are also encouraged to benefit from the programs of OPCW.

CSIR in association with The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) offers up to 30 fellowships per year to the scholars from developing countries for conducting PhD / postdoctoral research studies in CSIR Institutes. Two types of fellowships are offered: (a) Doctoral Fellowships (upto 4 years) and b) Postdoctoral Fellowships (upto 1 year). While TWAS meets the cost of international travel, CSIR takes care of the stay of research scholars in India.

Website links:

• https://twas.org/opportunity/twas-csir-postgraduate-fellowship-programme
• https://twas.org/opportunity/twas-csir-postdoctoral-fellowship-programme

Also, CSIR institutes having state-of-the-art training facilities in terms of expertise, vast infrastructure, modern equipment, latest instrumentation, pilot plants and design facilities provide specialized training on request from Indian / foreign institutions/industry. In addition, CSIR institutes offer hundreds of structured training programs every year for foreign nationals under various programs of DST, DBT, SAARC-PTB and MEA-ITEC.

ISTAD has been managing the in-house fellowship program of CSIR ’Raman Research Fellowships’ that provides exposure of the global centers of excellence to young and bright scientists of CSIR. Raman Research Fellowships (RRF) are granted to CSIR Scientists and technologists below the age of 45 years, with PG in engineering or PhD in Science, for carrying out research in the emerging / high priority areas of CSIR in reputed institutions / R&D centers of excellence abroad. Under the scheme currently a total of 54 man-months, divided among up to 12 scientists, are available annually. The Fellows are provided with roundtrip international travel, monthly fellowship of US$ 2500, a supplementary grant of US$ 1000 for participation in conferences / visiting institutions of excellence in the host country and a contingency / preparatory allowance of US$ 1000.

Why Cooperate with CSIR India

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, CSIR India, known for its cutting edge R&D knowledgebase in diverse S&T areas, is a contemporary R&D organization. Having a pan-India presence, CSIR has a dynamic network of 38 national laboratories, 39 outreach centers, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units being manned by over 3500 active scientists supported by over 6000 scientific and technical personnel. CSIR conducts research that advances the knowledge, fuels economic growth, caters to strategic needs of the country and achieves societal welfare. These activities encompass a wide spectrum of science and technology – from radio and space physics, oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to mining, minerals & materials, housing & structures aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology.

CSIR has maintained the tradition of delivering world-class technologies. A strong patent portfolio in select technology domains has made CSIR the Pioneer of India’s intellectual property movement. CSIR India caters to the technological needs of Indian as well as foreign industries based in India and abroad. Over the years CSIR has developed a vast array of innovative products, processes and technologies for its global partners in Germany, France, USA, UK and many other countries. CSIR provides technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts including environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, and farm and non-farm sectors. The new knowledge generated by CSIR can be accessed through its research publications; in 2019 to its credit CSIR had 5277 publications in scientific journals, many of which appeared on the cover page of leading journals.

CSIR India is among the global R&D leaders and has intrinsic strengths to provide

• S&T expertise and knowledgebase in the development process through effective collaborations
• Contract research facilities and expertise
• Consultancy services
• Human Resource Development opportunities (research apprenticeship, research and education scholarships, enrolment in PhD programs)

For any query and additional information and for building cooperation linkages with CSIR India please write to:

• Dr (Mrs) RAMA SWAMI BANSAL
• Chief Scientist and Head
• International S&T Affairs Directorate (ISTAD)
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
• Anusandhan Bhavan, 2, Rafi Marg,
• New Delhi 110 001
• Tel: +91-11-23736212; Fax: +91-11-23739041
• Email: rsb@csir.res.in ; head.istad@csir.res.in