CSIR research overlapping with other institutes, says Parl panel

A parliamentary panel has flagged that research by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) overlaps with other scientific institutions like the departments of biotechnology, and science and technology, the Ministry of Electronics and IT and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute; and this would impact the national scientific pursuits.

The panel headed by BJP’s Bhubaneswar Kalita recommended that CSIR undertake a comprehensive restructuring to optimise its research priorities; and establish a clear roadmap to prioritise high-impact research.

The parliamentary panel also flagged that the project of the CSIR on developing technology to replace animal testing is on hold due to funding constraints.

“The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research is working on developing animal-free organoid models to replace animal testing with human cell-based alternatives, in line with ethical R&D practices and global trends. Despite the CSIR’s capabilities, this project remains on hold due to funding constraints,” the report said.