A Two-day Regional Consultative Meeting on “Ease of Doing Research & Development (R&D) for Accelerating Growth of States/UTs” was organised by NITI Aayog at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati on October 15–16, 2025. The workshop brought together Vice Chancellors, institutional leaders, and representatives from scientific ministries and departments from the northeastern region to deliberate on strengthening India’s R&D ecosystem.

Delivering the welcome address, Prof. Devendra Jalihal, Director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, called for greater collaboration among academia, industry, and government to accelerate the nation’s research and development priorities. Prof. Vivek Kumar Singh, Programme Director, NITI Aayog, outlined the theme of the workshop, noting that enhancing the ease of research is only the first step, and the ultimate goal must be to accelerate the translation of scientific outcomes into real-world applications.

Dr. Sanghamitra Bandopadhyay, Officiating Director, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, and Dr. Vinita Sahay, Director, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bodh Gaya, in their keynote addresses, highlighted the need to reimagine India’s research landscape, with a focus on breaking institutional silos and fostering industry linkages. They also underscored the importance of nurturing a research-oriented environment at the school level itself.

Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, offered his perspectives on the future of Indian Science & Technology. He emphasized the need for States and Union Territories to identify their intrinsic strengths and adopt a cluster-based approach to leverage and expand their R&D ecosystems. Dr. Saraswat highlighted the relevance of adopting the Mohali model for the North-Eastern Region, with Guwahati as the central hub, to promote integrated research and innovation clusters. He also proposed initiating mission-mode R&D projects addressing region-specific challenges of the North East to foster inclusive and sustainable growth.

Across technical sessions, participants engaged in substantive deliberations on streamlining processes to maximize R&D efficiency and productivity, attracting and retaining quality human resources for accelerating R&D, from Lab to Land (Technology Translation and Commercialization), fostering collaboration and supporting mobility, measuring Ease of Doing R&D. Contributions came from leading Vice Chancellors and Directors of universities, national laboratories & institutes.

The meeting closed with a clear takeaway: India’s scientific progress hinges not just on how easily research can be conducted, but on how effectively it can be turned into real-world impact. Making research translation a central pillar of policy formulation, funding strategy, and institutional planning will help transform India’s scientific efforts from generating ideas to delivering innovations that boost industry, promote self-reliance, and drive the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

 

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MJPS/SR

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