Lucknow: A two-day national consultation on "Ease of Doing Research and Development" organized by NITI Aayog concluded at Uttar Pradesh Raj Bhawan on Wednesday. The workshop brought together representatives from central research institutions including CSIR, ICAR and DRDO to examine systemic challenges in India's R&D ecosystem.
Technical sessions focused on streamlining research governance, with particular emphasis on reducing bureaucratic hurdles in project approvals and funding disbursals.
Discussions highlighted the need for greater institutional autonomy and improved industry-academia collaboration for effective patent commercialization. State universities received directives to expand their rural adoption initiatives, currently covering five villages per institution.

The workshop outcomes are expected to inform forthcoming policy frameworks aimed at strengthening India's research infrastructure. Participants stressed the importance of time-bound grant mechanisms and simplified regulatory processes to enhance research productivity.