The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India launched the “Science and Technology (S&T) Clusters Annual Report 2025–26” under the chairmanship of Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser during a meeting held on 13 August 2026. The launch was also attended by Dr (Mrs) Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary; Dr Vishal Choudhary, Scientist-F; Dr Santhosh Nair, Scientist-D; and Dr Shefali Uttam, Technical Staff, Office of the PSA, along with the CEOs, COOs, and Principal Investigators of the eight S&T Clusters established under the Office of the PSA: Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone (AMTZ Vizag); Bengaluru Science and Technology Cluster (BeST); Bhubaneswar City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster (BCKIC); Delhi Research Implementation and Innovation Cluster (DRIIV); Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster (JCKIC); Panjab University–IIT Ropar Regional Accelerator for Holistic Innovations (PI-RAHI); Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC); and Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH).

During the launch, Prof. Sood emphasised stronger inter-cluster collaboration, industry engagement, and technology translation, with a focus on adapting and scaling successful regional solutions and measuring outcomes through higher TRLs, real-world validation, commercialisation, and societal and economic impact.

Dr Maini highlighted the growing maturity of the S&T Clusters through a consortium-based model and emphasised the need to prioritise the national interest while strengthening industry participation in technology validation and translation.

The Report highlights the evolving role of S&T Clusters as regional innovation ecosystems and “National Technology Accelerators”, driving technology translation through shared infrastructure, public-private partnerships, startup support, and industry engagement. Several initiatives have progressed from research and pilot validation to field deployment and commercialisation, including E-Yantram, AI-enabled Digital Podiatry Clinics, AI-enabled agriculture and weather intelligence, indigenous pacemaker components, patient-specific 3D-printed implants, ChemAmaze, and One Health initiatives, alongside national platforms such as Kalaanubhav.in and i-Passport. The Report also mentions the growing international engagement of the Clusters, including the First International Conference on S&T Clusters held in December 2025, which brought together participants from over 35 countries and resulted in 12 international MoUs, followed by collaborations with the University of Western Australia, the India-Australia Smart Farm Network and the UK Catapult Network in areas including health, emerging technologies and net-zero technologies.

The S&T Clusters also presented their international collaborations that are underway across areas such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing, smart agriculture, sustainable mobility, climate resilience, emerging technologies and capacity building. Inter-Cluster collaborations has enabled successful solutions to be replicated and scaled. The Digital Podiatry Clinic, for instance, has expanded from BeST to PI-RAHI, Kalaanubhav.in, an initiative of JCKIC, is being scaled across Clusters, and I-RISE, a program of I-STEM is strengthening access to advanced scientific infrastructure through the S&T Clusters. The i-Passport initiative of AMTZ is also being considered for national scale-up, providing innovators with access to shared infrastructure, testing, mentorship, regulatory support and industry networks.

The Report can be accessed through: https://www.psa.gov.in/CMS/web/sites/default/files/2026-08/S%26T%20Clusters%20Annual%20Report%202025-26.pdf

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