A two-day Consultative Meeting on Ease of Doing Research & Development (R&D) was held on 3^rd and 4^th June 2025 at the CSIR – Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Dehradun. Organized by NITI Aayog, this meeting, the second in a series of regionally anchored consultations, convened leaders from premier universities, research institutions, laboratories and scientific departments to shape a future-ready R&D framework for the country.

During the meeting, Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, underscored that India cannot afford to let its scientific institutions operate within legacy systems. He stressed the need to entrust greater operational freedom to researchers, overhaul outdated procurement practices, and embrace performance-linked models of funding. He reiterated NITI Aayog’s commitment to translate field-level insights into strategic policy frameworks. Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR & Secretary, DSIR, praised this initiative and highlighted the urgency of bridging the lab-to-market gap through strong infrastructure and interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly in the institutions outside metropolitan centers. Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, President, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), emphasized fostering a culture of trust, innovation, and openness within academic and research institutions. He advocated for minimizing administrative overreach, encouraging researcher mobility, and building merit-based, globally aligned career structures.

Building on the outcomes of the first meeting held in May 2025, at Raj Bhawan, Lucknow, this edition deepened conversations around persistent bottlenecks in the research landscape, from procedural rigidities to fragmented funding channels

The meeting featured insights from a diverse group of eminent speakers and focused thematic discussions on governance reform, translational research, public-private partnerships, and support systems for young researchers. Participants proposed mechanisms to enhance autonomy, streamline regulatory frameworks, and incentivize high-impact research. The valuable insights and recommendations from this consultative meeting will feed into a national reform strategy being developed by NITI Aayog to accelerate India’s scientific advancement and innovation leadership.

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MJPS/SR/SKS