Dr. (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA to the Government of India chaired the first “State Governments Nodal Officers Meeting” for the I-STEM Portal on 21^st September 2026. The meeting focused on strengthening the participation of State Governments in the I-STEM ecosystem and facilitating the onboarding and effective utilisation of publicly funded scientific infrastructure across States.

I-STEM was conceived and supported by the Office of the PSA and launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in January 2020. The platform has expanded into a national resource with more than 31,000 scientific instruments across nearly 4,000 institutions and over 65,000 registered users. By improving the utilisation of existing infrastructure, reducing duplication of investments and facilitating access to specialised facilities, I-STEM is strengthening the research and innovation ecosystem across the country. Also, the listing of publicly funded equipment costing above ₹20 lakh on I-STEM, further strengthens the framework for shared access and optimal utilisation of scientific infrastructure.

The meeting brought together State Government Nodal Officers from 23 States and 4 UTs, along with representatives from the Office of the PSA and I-STEM, to discuss mechanisms for integrating State-level universities, research institutions, laboratories and other R&D facilities with the national I-STEM platform. The meeting included an overview of I-STEM, a detailed orientation on the platform, and an interactive discussion with the Nodal Officers.

In her keynote address, Dr. (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA, highlighted the need to ensure that India’s investments in scientific and R&D infrastructure are discoverable, accessible and optimally utilised. She emphasised the role of Nodal Officers in facilitating institutional onboarding, equipment listing, wider access and effective utilisation of facilities, while addressing practical issues related to coordination and implementation. She also highlighted the importance of initiatives such as One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) in enabling wider access to high-quality scholarly resources and strengthening the research ecosystem. She further underscored that the larger objective should be to ensure that scientific infrastructure and knowledge resources created through public investment are accessible to the wider R&D and innovation ecosystem and deliver greater value to the country.

Dr. Vishal Choudhary, Scientist ‘F’, Office of PSA, provided an overview of the I-STEM Portal, while Dr. Harilal Bhaskar, COO/National Coordinator, I-STEM, conducted the detailed orientation on the platform and its functionalities. The orientation covered the process of onboarding institutions, listing scientific equipment and enabling wider access to publicly funded R&D infrastructure.

The meeting also highlighted the importance of I-STEM for State universities, colleges, technical institutions and emerging innovation ecosystems, particularly where access to specialised scientific infrastructure may be limited. It was also emphasized that all other existing similar portals (like ANALYTICS portal of CSIR) are being integrated with I-STEM through API linkages.

The deliberations and stakeholder interventions underscored the following key priorities:

• Strengthening institutional onboarding: Encouraging universities, research institutions and R&D laboratories under State Governments to register on I-STEM as both users and facility providers.
• Expanding access: Enabling researchers, startups, MSMEs and industry to discover and access specialised scientific infrastructure available across institutions and States.
• Improving utilisation: Promoting wider and more efficient use of existing publicly funded scientific equipment and facilities.
• Supporting infrastructure planning: Using the national infrastructure landscape available through I-STEM to inform future investments and minimise duplication.
• Strengthening State-level coordination: Enabling State Government Nodal Officers to act as a link between State Governments, their institutions and the national I-STEM ecosystem, supporting onboarding, equipment listing, awareness and effective utilisation.

The meeting concluded with an emphasis on strengthening coordination between State-level R&D infrastructure and the national science, technology and innovation ecosystem. The State Government Nodal Officers were encouraged to facilitate wider adoption of I-STEM within their respective States and address practical issues relating to institutional onboarding, equipment listing, access, utilisation and coordination.

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