The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) organized an online session on "Science Policy and Communication in an Era of Global Challenges: From Boundaries to Breakthroughs" on September 16, 2026, as part of the Science Summit at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The session brought together experts and practitioners to deliberate on strengthening the interface between science, policy, and society in addressing complex global challenges, with the central theme focusing on science for a regenerative and equitable future.
Dr. Naresh Kumar, Chief Scientist at CSIR-NIScPR, emphasized the importance of moving scientific knowledge from research to real-world application and the need for stronger institutional mechanisms connecting research, policy, and deployment. Dr. Kasturi Mandal, Senior Principal Scientist and session convener, highlighted the persistent global "science divide" in infrastructure, skills, and participation, noting that science policy and communication are complementary pillars of sustainable and inclusive development.
Dr. Geetha Vani Rayasam, Director of CSIR-NIScPR, chaired the session and highlighted the significance of technology readiness, scientific entrepreneurship, and foresight on emerging technologies, particularly in view of rapid Artificial Intelligence developments. She stressed the need to anticipate emerging scenarios and strengthen evidence-informed policy approaches to ensure scientific and technological advances translate into meaningful societal outcomes.
Shri Rohit Gupta, CTO of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, presented TRL Compass, India's evidence-based national framework for assessing technology readiness. He showed how a structured, sector-specific approach can de-risk deep tech investment and offer a template that emerging economies can adapt to their own priorities, highlighting collaboration between the Office of the PSA and CSIR-NIScPR in developing sector-specific TRL assessment frameworks for India relevant to the global south.
Dr. Joana Ball, Managing Director of the Directory of Open Access Journals, urged involvement of governments, funders, researchers, universities, libraries, and publishers in strengthening open knowledge systems and highlighted CSIR-NIScPR's role in connecting Indian research with researchers and wider society. Several other scientists presented on topics including aligning technological development with societal needs, complexity-based approaches to identify breakthrough research, inclusive science communication barriers and approaches, and India's successful experience with technology-led development transformation and digital public infrastructure (DPI) that has potential for sharing with the Global South.
The session concluded with a shared emphasis on strengthening the connection between scientific knowledge, policy processes, and societal needs, highlighting the importance of collaborative, interdisciplinary, and participatory approaches to advancing inclusive, resilient, and sustainable pathways for the future.
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