CSIR was established in 1942 and is currently functions under DSIR. The council has led to the formation of 39 outreach centres, 38 national laboratories, 5 units and 3 innovation complexes. The CSIR is the leading entity in R&D and has developed a strong portfolio of technologies and registered IPs.
CSIR initiated one of the largest PPP for R&D initiative through scheme ‘New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative’ (NMITLI; click here to visit). NMITLI supports PPP R&D projects and provides financial support in the form of a grant to academic partner and soft loans (3-5% interest rate) to industry partners. NMITLI scheme was introduced by CSIR in 2001 and since then has generated nearly 100 international patents and publications, completed 60 large network projects in different sectors like agriculture, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and materials and others. NMITLI has led to collaborative R&D with 85 industrial partners and 250 research institutes in India with a total outlay of ₹550 Cr (click here for details)
Some of the successful products and technologies generated from the NMITLI project are presented in Box below.
Products/Technologies Generated from NMITLI
Bioinformatics (BioSuite, GenoCluster and Darshee)
Information Technology (SofComp and Mobilis, Triple Play Broadband, Weather Forecasting System)
Healthcare (Formulations in Psoriasis, Tuberculosis, Novel biotherapeutic for Staphylococcus infections, Scientifically validated herbal formulations based on traditional knowledge system have been developed through Golden Triangle approach for Arthritis, Diabetes and Hepatic Protection, Ashwagandha and Production of Docosa Hexanoic Acid)
Diagnostics (XCyto Screen Kit and Micro-PCR)
Agricultural Biotechnology (Two new varieties of Mentha piperita viz. ‘CIM-Indus’ and ‘CIM-Madhuras’ released to farmers, Elite low lignin containing Ochlandra travancorica and Leucaena leucocephala accessions for pulp & paper, Sugarcane Biorefinery and Mitigation of Environmental Pollution)
Energy Sector (Fuel Cell and Wind Energy)
To assist industries, CSIR has also created a knowledge base of 642 technologies which can be readily taken up for commercialization (click here for details)