Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | 05 Jun 2021

Why in News

Recently, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Society through video conference.

• Earlier CSIR Floriculture Mission was approved for implementation in 21 States and Union Territories of India.
• It is also planning to undertake genome sequencing of a sample of nearly 1000 Indian rural youth to determine unique genetic traits, susceptibility (and resilience) to disease.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • It is the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in India. It has a pan-India presence and has a dynamic network of 37 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units.
  • It is ranked 37^th among 1587 government institutions worldwide and is the only Indian organization among the top 100 global government institutions, according to the Scimago Institutions Ranking World Report 2021.
    
    • CSIR holds the 7^th rank in Asia and leads the country at the first position.
  • The Prime Minister is the President (Ex-officio) and the Union Minister of Science and Technology is the Vice President (Ex-officio).
• Funding:
  
  • CSIR is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• Established:
  
  • September 1942.
• Located:
  
  • New Delhi.
• Objectives:
  
  • Scientific and industrial/applied research of national importance. It covers a wide spectrum of streams such as: Radio and space physics, oceanography, biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, etc.
  • It provides significant technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts which include the environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, farm and non-farm sectors.
• Some Initiatives:
  
  • Covid-19:
    
    • CSIR has set up five technology verticals for addressing the emerging situation due to pandemic:
      
      • Digital and Molecular Surveillance.
      • Rapid and Economical Diagnostics.
      • Repurposing of Drugs, Vaccine and Convalescent Plasma Therapy.
      • Hospital Assistive Devices and PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment).
      • Supply Chain and Logistics Support Systems.
  • Strategic:
    
    • Head-Up-Display (HUD): It developed indigenous Head-Up- display (HUD) for Indian Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas. HUD aids the pilot in flying the aircraft and in critical flight maneuvers including weapon aiming.
  • Energy & Environment:
    
    • Solar Tree: It occupies minimum space to produce clean power.
    • Lithium Ion Battery: India’s first lithium ion battery fabrication facility based on indigenous novel materials for making 4.0 V/14 h standard cells has been established.
  • Agriculture:
    
    • Samba Mahsuri Rice Variety: It developed a Bacterial Blight Resistant Rice.
    • Rice Cultivar (Muktashree): A rice variety has been developed which restricts assimilation of Arsenic within permissible limits.
    • White-fly resistant Cotton variety: Developed a transgenic cotton line which is resistant to whiteflies.
  • Healthcare:
    
    • Genomics and other omics technologies for Enabling Medical Decision – GOMED: It has been developed by the CSIR which provides a platform of disease genomics to solve clinical problems.
  • Food & Nutrition:
    
    • Ksheer-scanner: It detects the level of milk adulteration and adulterants in 45 seconds at the cost of 10 paise.
    • Double-Fortified Salt: Salt fortified with iodine and iron having improved properties developed and tested for addressing anaemia in people.

Source: PIB