The Appointments Committee of the cabinet appointed Dr Nallathamby Kalaiselvi, who was Director of CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI), Karaikudi, as Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) & Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), on 7 August 2022.

Dr N. Kalaiselvi is the successor to Dr Shekhar C. Mande, who retired in April, after whom Dr Rajesh Gokhale, the Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, was given additional charge as DG CSIR. 

Dr Kalaiselvi's research work of more than 25 years is primarily focused on electrochemical power systems and in particular, the development of electrode materials, custom-designed synthesis methods, optimisation of reaction parameters and electrochemical evaluation of in-house prepared electrode materials for their suitability in energy storage device assembly. Her research interests include lithium and beyond lithium batteries, supercapacitors and waste-to-wealth driven electrodes and electrolytes for energy storage and electrocatalytic applications.

Dr Kalaiselvi has more than 125 research papers and six patents to her credit. She is a recipient of many prestigious awards including the MRSI medal, CSIR Raman Research Fellowship, INSA-NRF Exchange award, Brain Pool Fellowship of Korea and the Most Inspiring Women Scientist award.