Updated: April 17, 2021 18:54 IST Research progresses when smart minds meet challenging problems in an ecosystem that offers access to data and equipment to solve them Share Article AAA Research progresses when smart minds meet challenging problems in an ecosystem that offers access to data and equipment to solve them Research and Development (R&D) activities foster innovation, herald technological advances, and ultimately promote economic growth. An increase in gross expenditure on R&D activities is an indicator of a nation’s long-term vision and growth strategies. Research progresses when smart minds meet challenging problems. After that chance meeting, the research group should have timely access to research analysis, synthesis and characterisation equipment that can be employed to investigate the problem. This ecosystem has only been enabled in the Tier-I research and education institutions such as the IITs, IISc and CSIR laboratories.