By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 20, 2025: MARKING a significant milestone in Science and Technology (S&T) cooperation between India and Nepal, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, and the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 18th February 2025 at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi.

The agreement, signed and exchanged by Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR, and Secretary, DSIR, and Prof. Dr. Dilip Subba, Vice-Chancellor, NAST, establishes a broad framework to promote bilateral scientific and technological collaboration.

CSIR and NAST share a long history of cooperation, dating back to 1994, when an agreement between CSIR and then-RONAST (now NAST) was signed to promote joint research and technological development in areas of mutual interest. To execute the agreement, two Working Programmes were signed in 1997 and 2002, leading to the organization of several joint workshops and training programs that continued beyond the official period of these agreements.

The newly signed MoU seeks to rejuvenate and expand this collaboration, enhancing scientific engagement between the two institutions.

The renewed partnership under the 2025 MoU will be implemented through various collaborative activities, including the exchange of scientific information, research materials, and scientists, the organization of joint S&T seminars, workshops, and training programs, the execution of joint research projects, access to each other's major research facilities, technology partnerships, and the twinning of institutions for capacity development. The cooperation will focus on mutually agreed areas, including biological sciences, food science and technology, water and environmental technologies, fuel and mining sciences, metallurgy, material sciences such as glass, ceramics, biomaterials, and nanotechnology, alternative energy, leather and footwear technologies, metrology, polymer sciences, and drug discovery.

The apex-level meeting held during the signing was attended by senior leadership from CSIR, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, and NAST. Discussions centred on the most effective modes of collaboration and key focus areas for joint research and development efforts. Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, DG, CSIR, emphasized CSIR's keen interest in strengthening its technology and capacity-building partnerships with Nepal through NAST. She underscored the enormous untapped potential for collaboration in multiple sectors and stressed the importance of swiftly putting the MoU into action with a targeted implementation plan.

Vice-Chancellor of NAST, Prof. Dr. Dilip Subba, reaffirmed NAST's commitment to this partnership, highlighting the value Nepal places on scientific cooperation with India. He noted that this MoU and the discussions held today would pave the way for a strengthened and enduring S&T relationship between the two nations. He also proposed the formation of subject-specific working groups to facilitate structured collaboration in priority areas.

With the exchange of this MoU, CSIR and NAST have reaffirmed their shared vision of leveraging scientific and technological advancements to drive progress, innovation, and economic growth. The agreement marks a new era in Indo-Nepal scientific collaboration, opening new avenues for joint research and knowledge exchange between the two countries.