I-STEM

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What is I-STEM?

I-STEM is a national initiative conceived and supported by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA), Government of India and launched by the Honorable Prime Minister of India.

It is important to clearly understand what I-STEM does — and what it does not do.

I-STEM does not:

Perform research
Own any equipment
Operate laboratories

I-STEM connects users with publicly funded research equipment hosted across:

Central and State Universities
IITs, IIITs (Centrally funded and Public-Private Partnership), NITs, IISERs, IISc, NITTTRs, GFTIs, and other Science, Technology and Engineering Institutions
National laboratories
Other institutions hosting government-funded equipment, including public or private institutions

Why is I-STEM needed?

India has a large amount of advanced and expensive research equipment distributed across institutions nationwide. However, many potential users are often unaware of:

Where specific equipment is located
Whether it is available when required
Whom to contact
How to formally request access

As a result, valuable research infrastructure often remains under-utilised.

I-STEM addresses this gap by bringing information on publicly funded research equipment together on a single national portal.

What does I-STEM do?

Through the I-STEM portal, users can:

Search for required research equipment
Find facilities by location or region
Check availability
Request time to use equipment
Receive technical and operational support from the host laboratory

Users do not purchase equipment. They book time to use it for their research or innovation activities.

Key points to note

I-STEM does not own equipment
I-STEM does not operate laboratories
I-STEM does not provide commercial testing services
Equipment ownership remains with the host institution
Equipment operation is managed by the host laboratory staff
All approvals and access decisions rest with the host institution
I-STEM functions solely as a connecting and enabling platform

Who can use I-STEM?

I-STEM supports Indian citizens engaged in genuine research and innovation, including:

Researchers and faculty
Graduate, postgraduate, and PhD students
Startups and MSMEs
Industry R&D teams
Grassroots innovators and independent researchers

How does I-STEM help users?

For researchers, students, startups, and industry:

Eliminates the need for heavy investment in costly equipment
Saves time and resources
Enables faster access to suitable facilities
Offers flexibility to choose nearby or preferred locations
Provides access to expert technical and operational support

How does I-STEM help institutions?

For universities and research laboratories, I-STEM helps by:

Improving utilisation of publicly funded equipment
Reducing duplication of expensive infrastructure within regions
Enhancing national visibility of institutional research facilities
Promoting academic–industry and inter-institutional collaboration
Improving return on public investment

How does I-STEM support national planning?

For the Government of India, I-STEM:

Enables informed planning by reducing repeated investments in similar equipment within the same region
Helps direct public funding to regions where research infrastructure is genuinely needed
Strengthens India’s overall research and innovation ecosystem

I-STEM is a national portal that helps users find publicly funded research equipment in India and officially request time to use it, with full support from the host laboratory.

The Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM) is an interactive web portal designed to accelerate scientific progress in India. This initiative, conceived and supported by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, creates a centralized platform for sharing publicly funded R&D equipment and facilities across various institutions throughout the country.

Resources

18004253281 (customer care)
support@istem.co.in

Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map