New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted personnel of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on its 79th foundation day.”Greetings to all those associated with @CSIR_INDon its Foundation Day. CSIR is at the forefront of furthering scientific research and innovation in India. They have also been playing a valuable role in fighting COVID-19. Best wishes to CSIR for its future endeavours,”the PM said in a tweet. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is one of the first publicly-funded Science & Technology (S&T) research organisations in India. It has played a crucial role in shaping the developments of modern Indian society, and the Covid-19 pandemic is no exception. As India is seeing an accelerated increase in cases, there is an urgent need for innovations and products in drugs, diagnostics, surveillance and devices.