The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is looking to strengthen the commercialisation of women-led scientific innovations under its ASPIRE programme, as it seeks to bridge the gap between laboratory research and market-ready technologies.
At the ASPIRE-SHAKTI event held in New Delhi, CSIR released the ASPIRE-SHAKTI Compendium and outlined plans for the next phase of the scheme, which will focus on inclusion, innovation and technology translation. The programme, launched in 2023, supports women researchers as independent Principal Investigators across multiple scientific disciplines.
Speaking at the event, CSIR Director General N. Kalaiselvi said the organisation may identify 20-30 outstanding projects for additional support aimed at commercialising research outcomes. She added that CSIR plans to connect promising researchers with startups and innovation partners to accelerate the development of market-ready technologies.
The scheme has received 2,878 proposals from 969 institutions across the country, with 301 women researchers selected for funding. Their work has resulted in more than 253 SCI-indexed publications, over 15 patent filings and presentations at international conferences, while also supporting the training of more than 300 research fellows.
Industry observers note that the programme's growing focus on technology transfer reflects a broader push to convert publicly funded research into economic value. Successful commercialisation could contribute to India's startup ecosystem, strengthen intellectual property creation and increase participation of women in innovation-led entrepreneurship.
CSIR also highlighted the need to expand participation from the Northeast and Ladakh, signalling efforts to make future rounds of the programme more geographically inclusive. As the organisation begins reviewing ongoing projects, the emphasis is increasingly shifting from research outputs alone to real-world applications and economic impact. |
