The CSIR-NIScPR, New Delhi, in collaboration with the CNRS-Department for Open Research Data, Open Science, Publications, Research Data and High Performance Computing, Paris (CNRS-DDOR), organised a two-day Indo-French Seminar on “Open Horizons: Integrating Open Access, Open Data, and Computational Innovation” from 5 to 6 March 2025 at CSIR-NIScPR, Satsang Vihar Campus, New Delhi.

This significant seminar was organised to deliberate on how India and France are taking a stride towards open access, open data and open science; how digital technologies and open source platform offer great promise in implementing an information-driven approach to advance science, promote collaborations, increase transparency and utilise tools for partnerships between science and society. The seminar was attended by researchers, scientists, and policymakers from India and France.

The inaugural session was attended by esteemed dignitaries from India and France, with Dr Antoine Petit, Chairman and CEO, CNRS, France; Prof. Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NIScPR; Prof. Nitin Seth, Director, Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA); and Dr Srinivasa Reddy, Director, CSIR-IICT on the dais.

“We are delighted to organise this event with CNRS, France, to promote open science and research data sharing,” said Prof. Ranjana Aggarwal, setting the tone for the conference. Describing the relevance of the event, she said, “This seminar marks an important step towards fostering international collaboration and advancing the sharing of scientific research for all sections of society.” She also mentioned the “One Nation One Subscription” initiative of the Indian Government and its role in providing open access to a larger number of stakeholders.

Prof. Nitin Seth recollected how they started with 1-2 calls annually to now with several dedicated partnerships in S&T between the two countries. He also shared his views about the expectations from this seminar. “Open access made scientific knowledge accessible, it brings a lot of opportunities”, shared Dr Srinivasa Reddy. He also mentioned the collaborations CEFIPRA has had with CSIR-IICT over the last several years.

Dr Antoine Petit, Chairman and Dr Sylvie Rousset, Senior Scientist & Head, Open Research Data Department (DDOR) gave a brief on CNRS and DDOR. Dr Kasturi Mandal, CSIR-NIScPR, and Dr Sylvie Rousset provided the overview of the two-day seminar, including topics of discussion and takeaways from the sessions.

The first session during the seminar was on "Policies for Open Access, Open Science in France and India," which was chaired by Prof. Vivek Kumar Singh from NITI Aayog. Dr Marin Dacos, French Ministry of Higher Education, highlighted the benefits and policies of open science in France. Dr Remya Haridasan, from the PSA Office, Govt of India, discussed the “One Nation One Subscription” (ONOS) initiative in India, wherein he detailed its impact on science dissemination and the challenges faced during implementation. Other speakers included Dr Sylvie Rousset and Mr Mukesh Pund from CSIR-NIScPR.

The second session was on “Open Access: A Diversity of Routes,” which was chaired by Prof. Anirban Chakraborti. During the session, Dr Bénédicte Kuntziger spoke about the HAL repository's growth. Dr Françoise Rousseau described negotiation strategies with major publishers to support open science. Dr Subbiah Arunachalam provided an overview of open-access progress in India. Dr Geetha Vani Rayasam presented on the open source's role in drug discovery.

Dr Laurence El Khouri chaired the third session, which expanded on the theme of the second session under “Open Access: A Diversity of Routes (Part II)”. Dr Lidia Borrell-Damian discussed the Diamond Action Plan for open access. Whereas Prof. Rajeswari Raina emphasised the need for a global perspective on open access. Dr Raphael Tournoy addressed the importance of Overlay Journals. Day one concluded with a Q&A session and a felicitation of the guests and speakers.

The second day of the India-France seminar on Open Science and Research Data concluded successfully with discussions on computational innovation, research evaluation, and open data sharing. Sessions included “R&D in Computational Innovation and Open Source Software,” which was chaired by Dr Avinash Kshitij, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR, featuring speakers such as Prof. Roberto Di Cosmo from INRIA and Dr Sridhar Gautam from ICAR.

This was followed by a session on “Reforming the Evaluation of Research,” featuring presentations from Dr Lidia Borrell-Damian and others on assessing research methods. The “Open Data Sharing” session included insights from Ms Alka Misra, Deputy Director General, NIC; Dr Marin Dacos, and Dr Naresh Kumar, Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR, on data initiatives.

A panel discussion during a session was also conducted with experts on the future of Open Science and Data. The seminar concluded with a valedictory session, where Dr Naresh Kumar summarised the discussions, and Prof. Anirban Chakraborti from JNU emphasised a balanced approach to Open Science. Mr Mukesh Pund, Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR, gave a vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to all participants.