- Why in news
- On 5 September 2026, DSIR Secretary and CSIR DG Dr N. Kalaiselvi inaugurated the sustainable phase of the DSIR-CRTDH on Affordable Healthcare at IIT Kharagpur. The Hub has ended its grant-supported phase and now runs on its own earnings.
- What it is
- The Common Research and Technology Development Hubs (CRTDH) scheme of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) sets up shared research and technology facilities in academic institutions. MSMEs, startups and innovators use them to develop and translate technologies. The Hub at IIT Kharagpur focuses on affordable healthcare and medical devices.
- Scheme owner
- The CRTDH scheme is run by DSIR under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
- Host and start year
- The Affordable Healthcare Hub is hosted at IIT Kharagpur and was established in 2019.
- Sustainable phase
- After the grant phase, the Hub meets operating costs through user fees, industry sponsorships and translational partnerships.
- Users served
- The facility supports MSMEs, startups, innovators and other stakeholders with infrastructure and technical expertise.
- Output so far
- Working from a 5,000 sq ft facility, the Hub has facilitated over 20 technology transfers.
Don’t confuse with DSIR vs CSIR: DSIR is a department under the Ministry of Science and Technology. CSIR is a separate research council with many labs. The same person currently heads both.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Shared facilities lower entry costs for MSMEs and startups building medical devices.
- Self-sustaining hubs show the scheme can outlast government grants and support self-reliance in medical technology.
Problems
- Relying on user fees and sponsorships may push a hub toward paying clients over public-good research.
- Scaling local rural health units and linking them to the National Health Mission needs sustained funding and regulation.
Way forward
- Track which hubs become self-sustaining and replicate the working models.
- Link hub-developed diagnostics with public health programmes and certify health workers formally.
Put in your answer
Rural diagnostic delivery: Trained health workers run rural health units in the Sundarbans and Birbhum, alongside National Health Mission structures, for screening, referral and follow-up.
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UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: A DSIR scheme hub moving to a self-sustaining model is a lasting topic, but it has few testable facts. Schemes are tested for features, yet this one is niche.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.