CSIR and DAKSHIN-RIS Sign Pact for Global South Science

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and DAKSHIN, the Global South Centre of Excellence housed at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), put their names to a Letter of Association on 3 November 2026. The Ministry of Science and Technology announced the agreement on 4 November 2026. The two bodies will work together on capacity building, joint research and technology partnerships for countries of the Global South.

What DAKSHIN sets out to do

DAKSHIN is built around the idea that developing countries learn fastest from one another. It encourages the making of solutions that are sustainable, affordable and fitted to local conditions, and it works through pooled resources, transfer of technology, exchange of experience and shared strategy. The aim is to tackle problems these countries face in common and to speed up progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

What CSIR brings

CSIR carries into the tie-up a wide base of scientific and technical knowledge along with a shelf of technologies that are ready to deploy, cheap enough to afford and simple enough to adapt. These are held to suit the development needs of partner countries, and they open room for wider spread, for industry to take them up and for new enterprise to grow around them.

Who said what

Dr. Rama Swami Bansal, Head of the International Science and Technology Affairs Directorate at CSIR, stressed how much developing countries gain from engaging one another and pointed to the scope for fresh models of joint working on shared priorities. Professor Sachin Kumar Sharma, Director General of RIS, called the tie-up a milestone in turning scientific skill and invention into practical joint solutions, and singled out healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, the blue economy and the digital economy as the fields that hold the most promise.

The four objectives

• Running joint policy studies to find answers suited to each setting
• Bringing in institutions and agencies that can scale up development work
• Pushing capacity building, human resource development and skill upgrades
• Recording and circulating development experience, best practice and success stories to build collective self-reliance

Why it matters

The arrangement is meant to serve as a platform for South-South cooperation, drawing in international partners and easing the transfer, adaptation and rollout of suitable science and technology. By placing CSIR's laboratory strength alongside DAKSHIN's reach abroad, the partners hope to put affordable and locally fitting technology into use across the Global South.