2025 CSAR Concludes with Outcome Document on Equity-Based STI for Inclusive Development
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure | SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Institutions: Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) | Ministry of Science & Technology
The 2025 Chief Science Advisers’ Roundtable (CSAR) concluded in Pretoria, South Africa on 21 September 2025 with the adoption of an outcome document titled “Equity-Based Science, Technology and Innovation for Inclusive Human Development and Global Sustainability.”
The CSAR is a G20-level science diplomacy forum, first initiated during India’s G20 presidency in 2023 to provide structured advice on science, technology, and innovation (STI = Science, Technology and Innovation). The 2025 meeting, hosted under South Africa’s G20 presidency, continued this format, bringing together chief science advisers and equivalents from G20 and guest countries. It serves as a bridge between political declarations and actionable STI collaborations, particularly for the Global South.
The Pretoria roundtable focused on three themes: (1) aligning global STI agendas with SDGs and equitable energy transitions, (2) creating an open and inclusive global knowledge system, and (3) mobilising G20 STI initiatives to build scientific capacity in Africa and other developing regions. India highlighted challenges of geographic and data divides in AI, citing initiatives like One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), I-STEM, RuTAG, and Smart Village Centers as scalable models for equitable technology access.
The outcome document positions STI as a tool for equitable development, embedding inclusion and accessibility in global scientific cooperation. India’s proactive role underscores its ambitions as both a knowledge hub and a South-South collaborator. The policy challenge now lies in turning these high-level commitments into sustained investments in data infrastructure, open access, and regional capacity-building partnerships.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
How can India and its G20 partners translate the CSAR’s outcome document into operational frameworks that deliver measurable gains in STI access and capacity, especially in the Global South?
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2025 Edition of Chief Science Advisers’ Roundtable Concludes with Adoption of Outcome Document