6th RISE Conclave 2026 Opens at CSIR-IICB in Kolkata

The 6th RISE Conclave 2026 opened in Kolkata on 6 September 2026. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, addressed the inaugural session. The two-day meeting runs on 6 and 7 September at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (CSIR-IICB) in Salt Lake.

Who is holding it

Four laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research have organised the conclave jointly. They are CSIR-CGCRI, CSIR-IICB, CSIR-CMERI and CSIR-IMMT. The theme is 'Driving Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Viksit Bharat 2047'. Kolkata is the sixth host city; Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru held the earlier editions.

The 4M framework

At the centre of the programme sits a framework the organisers call 4M. The letters stand for minerals, medicine, materials and machines, matching the strengths the four host laboratories bring. Each laboratory put its technologies on display for transfer, licensing and commercial use.

Who took part

The startup exhibition and the science and technology pavilion drew around 150 startups. About 300 startup representatives attended, along with another 150 delegates from incubation and innovation centres. Eight panels with 67 panellists covered drug discovery and affordable health care, manufacturing technology for MSMEs, materials-led innovation, the decarbonisation of steel and aluminium, critical minerals, science communication, science-driven startups, and traditional wisdom alongside modern innovation.

What the Minister said

Dr Jitendra Singh argued that India's startup base must spread past the big cities. More than half of the country's startups, he noted, do not come from metros, and young innovators in smaller towns often match or beat their big-city peers. He asked scientific institutions to travel to them rather than wait for them. He recalled Kolkata's scientific past through Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, Prof U. N. Brahmachari, Sir C. V. Raman and Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee. He also pointed to the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund and to the Anusandhan National Research Foundation as the instruments backing high-risk research.

Who else spoke

Dr N. Kalaiselvi, Director General of CSIR and Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, addressed the inaugural session. Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee, Minister-in-Charge of Health and Family Welfare in West Bengal, was the Guest of Honour. The directors of the four host laboratories were present. The valedictory session on 7 September carries an address by Dr Kalyan Chakraborti, the State's Science and Technology Minister.