CSTEP’s Annual Report for 2024-25 captures the organisation’s 20-year journey as India’s leading think tank in science, technology, and public policy for sustainable solutions. Founded in 2005 by Dr V S Arunachalam, CSTEP has evolved from a small research team to a robust institution with an expanding multidisciplinary focus and a reputation for evidence-based impact across climate, energy, and air quality domains.
Over two decades, CSTEP’s work has shaped influential policy and research outcomes at both state and national levels. This report details select impact stories that have transformed the ecosystem, policy landscapes and frameworks -- locally, nationally, and even globally. The annual report narrates the institution’s pioneering suite of modelling tools, which includes the SAFARI model for scenario analysis of energy, emissions, and resources, critically recognised in the IPCC AR6 database and cited in global and national climate policy discourse. CSTEP has developed open-source emission datasets, facilitated capacity-building workshops for pollution boards, and contributed directly to the successful adoption of clean air action plans and regulatory platforms such as PRANA. CSTEP’s impact extends to urban planning; climate risk assessment; advancement of e-mobility through digital tools like E-DEPOT for e-bus depot electrification; and climate vulnerability mapping, now powering SAPCC commitments in multiple states and union territories. The institution’s ongoing policy engagement includes technical support for rooftop solar rollouts, resource planning for renewables-intensive power grids, evaluation of energy storage for reliable clean energy, and strategic guidance for agriculture and transport decarbonisation.
With a legacy of 20 years of research excellence, digital innovation, and institutional credibility, CSTEP remains poised to advance India’s sustainable development by bridging science, technology, and policy with impact-driven solutions for clean air, energy transition, and a good quality of life for citizens.
