CSIR forms new institution to further strengthen science communication

Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday laid the foundation stone of CSIR, formed after the merging of CSIR-NISCAIR and CSIR-NISTADS, a step aimed at further strengthening science communication.

Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday laid the foundation stone of

CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research, formed after the merging of CSIR-NISCAIR and CSIR-NISTADS, a step aimed at further strengthening science communication.

He said the purpose of the merger is to combine the strength of the two institutes in a synergistic way with a vision to become a globally respected think tank and resource centre for understanding Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy research and communication.

Vardhan emphasised that evidence-driven policy will play a crucial role in making "Aatma-nirbhar Bharat" a reality driven by Science and Technology, and innovation.

He also said that the merger is a turning point in their history as now the repository of knowledge vested in the two institutes will combine to make the new entity an even larger and more prestigious institute in the global scientific arena.

The minister emphasised that CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) will serve the society with its core areas of science communication and policy research which has proved to be so important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR) manages the largest and oldest National Science Library and also distributes International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). It has been the custodian of the National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC) which facilitates access to more than 5,000 e-journals of all major publishers, patents, standards, citations, and bibliographic databases.

It has also been a frontier institute in science communication, publishing popular science magazines (Vigyan Pragati and Science Reporter) and scientific journals.

CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS) has earned its reputation in its long journey in policy research and has a rich research experience in the area of History of Science, Science and Technology, and Society.

It has executed projects from UNESCO and the Commonwealth Science Council, State S&T Councils and international agencies to review their respective S&T promotional schemes. It has also created a techno-socio-economic platform to enable development and application of socially acceptable, relevant, scalable and cost-competitive products.

Shekhar Mande, Director General, CSIR exuded confidence in scientists saying they will take the new institute to ever new heights.

Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NISCAIR and CSIR-NISTADS, highlighted the key roles played by both the institutes in the past few decades.