CSIR and DAKSHIN-RIS 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 countries, while CSIR contributes its extensive scientific and technological knowledge base along with a portfolio of ready-to-deploy, affordable technologies that are adaptable to developmental needs. 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 to address shared developmental priorities. Professor Sachin Kumar Sharma, Director General of RIS, noted that the association with CSIR represents a significant milestone in translating scientific expertise and technological innovations into collaborative solutions, particularly highlighting cooperation potential in healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, blue economy, and digital economy sectors.
The key objectives outlined in the Letter of Association include fostering joint policy studies to identify innovative and context-specific solutions to developmental challenges, engaging relevant institutions and agencies to facilitate scaling up of development interventions, promoting capacity building and human resource development with skill upgradation, and documenting and sharing development experiences, best practices, and success stories to strengthen collective self-reliance among Global South countries.
The association 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. By leveraging CSIR's scientific expertise and DAKSHIN's global engagement platform, the collaboration aims to support the development and dissemination of affordable, sustainable technology solutions contributing to inclusive growth and sustainable development across the Global South.