AI for India Summit 2025
The AI for India Summit 2025, hosted by AI4India in partnership with CSTEP, was a gathering of industry leaders, developers, policymakers, researchers, and startups committed to shaping the future of AI for public good.
This year’s theme, Making Impact in India and Beyond, focused on real-world applications of AI that address critical Indian user needs while contributing globally. With a powerful line-up of keynote talks, panel discussions, and startup showcases, the Summit served as a call to action for collaborative, solution-driven innovation.
Stakeholder Engagement Workshop - Developing an EbA Feasibility Tool (DEFT): A Case Study of Hebbal
The DEFT project aims to operationalise ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in urban planning through a scalable decision-support tool.
Ujjain Saur Urja Mela
Ujjain Saur Urja Mela, a two-day rooftop solar awareness fair was organised by CSTEP in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh Western Region Power Distribution Company (MPWZ) and the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL). The event aimed to boost awareness and adoption of the 'PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana' by bringing together consumers, vendors, banks, and DISCOMs. Visitors explored live demos of CSTEP’s Rooftop Solar Explorer tool and interacted with experts.
Whither our city?
The past week has been bleak in Bengaluru. What initially brought relief to the hot summers quickly turned into a nightmare. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city has already breached the 100 mm rainfall/day mark this month, classifying the event as ‘heavy rainfall’. The high-intensity rains over the past few days have disrupted lives, resulting in waterlogged roads, submerged underpasses, overflowing drains, fallen trees, and widespread power outages.
Focus on heat-resilience despite the monsoon
At a national conference on climate and health titled ‘India 2047: Building a Climate-Resilient Future’, recently, a trade union leader shared the lived reality of garment workers in sweltering factories, while a climate modeller spoke about wet-bulb temperatures — two equally important perspectives that are reflective of science and the lived reality. The conference showed the power of unlikely collaborations: paediatricians with architects, maternal health experts with city engineers, and academicians with policymakers.
India Clean Air Summit 2025
As part of our shared commitment to the grand challenge of Clean Air for All, the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) conducted the seventh edition of its flagship event—India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) 2025. With the theme ‘Towards Clean Air for All: Modelling the Solutions to Pollution’, ICAS 2025 was held on 20–22 August 2025.
The commercial catch in rooftop solar-powered EV charging
If electric vehicles (EVs) still rely on a coal-heavy grid for charging, are they really cleaner than internal combustion engine vehicles? What’s more, with EV demand surging in Indian cities like Bengaluru, this could increase CO2 emissions from the sector. As a cleaner and scalable charging solution, rooftop photovoltaic (RTPV)-based EV charging stations (EVCS) are a viable option. So, what is holding back the wider uptake of RTPV-EVCS?