CSIR Honours 301 Women Scientists Through ASPIRE Scheme

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Tuesday, 14 July 2026

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has recognized the achievements of women scientists through its ASPIRE Research Scheme and has launched the new round of project review sessions with the objective of driving scientific innovation and research commercialization.

The conference titled “ASPIRE-SHAKTI: Celebrating Women in STEM & Launching Project Review Sessions” has been organized by the CSIR Human Resources Development Group (CSIR-HRDG) in New Delhi. The conference has seen the participation of principle investigators, research fellows, and ASPIRES Subject Area Committees members from all over India.

Leading the event, Dr N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, DSIR, and Director General of CSIR, launched the ASPIRE-SHAKTI Compendium, which captures the research achievements and contributions of women scientists supported under the ASPIRE Research Scheme.

Since the introduction of the CSIR-ASPIRE Research Scheme, there have been high levels of participation, with 2,878 research proposals being submitted by 969 organizations from almost all states in India. Through a stringent and competitive evaluation process, 301 women scientists were picked to conduct their own independent research studies as Principal Investigators, with a success rate of roughly 10%.

Key Highlights:

• CSIR celebrates women scientists through the ASPIRE-SHAKTI initiative
• ASPIRE scheme supports 301 women researchers across diverse disciplines
• CSIR advances women-led research with innovation and commercialization plans

The supported research studies cover a variety of science fields, including Life Sciences (152 research studies), Engineering Sciences (54 research studies), Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Sciences (37 research studies), Chemical Sciences (34 research studies), and Physical Sciences (25 research studies).

The CSIR-ASPIRE Research Scheme has shown remarkable success in terms of research impact, with research projects supported through the programme having led to over 253 publications in SCI-indexed journals, over 15 patent filings, and over 20 research presentations in international scientific conferences.

Apart from conducting scientific research, the scheme has contributed to the growth of the pool of research talents in India, with the training of more than 300 Junior Research Fellows, Senior Research Fellows, and Research Associates and the inclusion of more women in the Indian scientific community.

In appreciating the tremendous success of the programme in terms of the level of participation, Dr. Kalaiselvi stated that there is still relatively low participation from the North-East and Ladakh regions. She called for increased effort in terms of creating awareness and reaching out to Tier-2 and Tier-3 institutions of learning.

She made it clear that CSIR would try to bring together researchers, startups, industry experts, and innovation networks to make sure that there is enough cooperation between the discovery of science and its commercialization. Through mentoring and networking, the organization wants to empower women scientists to translate their research findings into practical and scalable solutions.

Dr. Kalaiselvi also appreciated the efforts made by the ASPIRE Research Committee that helped in carrying out a proper assessment process in a highly professional manner, while appreciating CSIR-HRDG for having implemented the program efficiently.

Speaking on the occasion, she emphasized that the initiative originated from the vision of Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh, who proposed a dedicated platform to encourage and support women researchers.

Since its launch by CSIR-HRDG on International Women's Day 2023, the ASPIRE Research Scheme has been working to strengthen women's participation in scientific research, nurture emerging talent, and advance inclusive innovation across India's research landscape.