CSIR and DAKSHIN-RIS Forge Partnership for Global South Development
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and DAKSHIN – Global South Centre of Excellence at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) signed a Letter of Association on November 3, 2026, to strengthen science, technology, and innovation collaboration among Global South countries. The partnership aims to enhance capacity building, research collaboration, and technology partnerships with a focus on developing sustainable, affordable, and locally relevant solutions for common developmental challenges.
DAKSHIN's vision centers on fostering knowledge sharing and mutual learning among Global South nations, while CSIR contributes its extensive scientific and technological knowledge base along with a portfolio of ready-to-deploy, adaptable technologies. These technologies offer significant potential for wider dissemination, industry-led implementation, and entrepreneurship facilitation across partner countries. Dr. Rama Swami Bansal, Head of International S&T Affairs Directorate at CSIR, emphasized the importance of international engagement among Global South countries and highlighted the potential for developing innovative collaborative partnership models.
Professor Sachin Kumar Sharma, Director General of RIS, noted that the association with CSIR represents a significant milestone in translating scientific expertise into collaborative solutions, particularly highlighting cooperation potential in healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, blue economy, and digital economy sectors. The key objectives of the partnership include fostering joint policy studies to identify context-specific solutions, engaging institutions to scale up development interventions, promoting capacity building and skill upgradation, and documenting and sharing development experiences and best practices to strengthen collective self-reliance among Global South nations.
The collaboration is expected to provide a platform for enhancing South-South cooperation, catalyzing international partnerships, and facilitating the transfer, adaptation, and deployment of appropriate science and technology solutions, ultimately contributing to inclusive growth and sustainable development across the Global South region.