CSIR Showcases Women-Led Research Under ASPIRE-SHAKTI Initiative

Looking ahead, Dr Kalaiselvi outlined plans to identify 20 to 30 outstanding ASPIRE projects that could receive additional support to move beyond laboratory research and towards commercialisation.

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has celebrated the achievements of women scientists under its ASPIRE Research Scheme while launching the next phase of project reviews aimed at strengthening innovation and research translation. The event, "ASPIRE-SHAKTI: Celebrating Women in STEM & Initiating Project Review Sessions," was organised by the CSIR Human Resource Development Group (CSIR-HRDG) at Anusandhan Bhawan, New Delhi. It brought together principal investigators, research fellows and members of the ASPIRE Subject Area Committees from across the country.

Presiding over the programme, Dr N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) and Director General of CSIR, released the ASPIRE-SHAKTI Compendium, which documents the research achievements of women scientists supported under the scheme. In her address, Dr Kalaiselvi recalled that the idea of launching a dedicated research programme for women scientists was envisioned by Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh. The scheme was introduced by CSIR-HRDG on International Women's Day in 2023 to strengthen the participation of women in scientific research.

Programme supports hundreds of women researchers across India

Since its launch, the CSIR-ASPIRE scheme has received 2,878 project proposals from 969 institutions across almost every state in the country. Following a competitive evaluation process, 301 women researchers were selected as independent Principal Investigators, representing an overall selection rate of about 10%.

The funded projects span multiple scientific disciplines, including Life Sciences (152 projects), Engineering Sciences (54), Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Sciences (37), Chemical Sciences (34) and Physical Sciences (25).

The research supported through the programme has already produced more than 253 publications in SCI-indexed journals, over 15 patent applications, and more than 20 presentations at international conferences. The initiative has also provided training to over 300 Junior Research Fellows, Senior Research Fellows and Research Associates, helping develop the next generation of women scientists.

While expressing satisfaction with the national response, Dr Kalaiselvi noted that participation from the North-East and Ladakh remains relatively low. She called for targeted outreach programmes and greater engagement with universities and colleges in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to ensure broader representation in future editions of the scheme.

CSIR plans to help convert research into market-ready technologies

Looking ahead, Dr Kalaiselvi outlined plans to identify 20 to 30 outstanding ASPIRE projects that could receive additional support to move beyond laboratory research and towards commercialisation. She said CSIR intends to connect promising researchers with startups and innovation partners so that scientific discoveries can be transformed into practical technologies with commercial potential.

The Director General also acknowledged the work of the ASPIRE Research Committee members for maintaining a rigorous evaluation process and praised CSIR-HRDG for successfully implementing the programme. The celebration was followed by the start of the Project Review Sessions, during which subject-specific expert committees will evaluate the progress of ongoing projects and provide guidance on advancing research towards real-world applications.