Headquartered in New Delhi, it was established as an autonomous body in 1942 under the aegis of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.

In late 2007, the Minister of Science and Technology, Kapil Sibal stated, in a Question Hour session of the Parliament, that CSIR has developed 1,376 technologies/knowledgebase during the last decade of the 20th century.

Eminent citizens such as C. V. Raman, Lt. Col. Seymour Sewell and J. C. Ghosh had proposed the creation of an advisory board of scientific research.

It instead offered to create an Industrial Intelligence and Research Bureau, which came into operation in April 1935 under the Indian Stores Department.

The Bureau's limited resources (with a budget of ₹1.0 lakh per annum) made it impossible to initiate major research and industrial activities as had been hoped for; it was mainly concerned with testing and quality control.

[9] As a member of Viceroy's executive council, and also of Commerce, he recommended that the Bureau should be terminated, not as a measure of economy, but to make room for a Board of Scientific and Industrial Research, which should be endowed with greater resources and wider objectives.

Major achievements of BSIR included development of the techniques for the purification of Baluchistan sulphur anti-gas cloth manufacture, vegetable oil blends as fuel and lubricants, plastic packing cases for army boots and ammunition, dyes for uniforms and the preparation of vitamins, and the invention of a pyrethrum emulsifier and cream.

In early 1941 Bhatnagar persuaded the government to set up an Industrial Research Utilisation Committee (IRUC) for translating results into application.

Then the constitution of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as an autonomous body was prepared under Mudaliar and Bhatnagar.

The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize comes up with a Citation, a Plaque & a Cash Award of 5 Lakh Rupees with the addition of a stipend of ₹15,000/- per month (till the age of 65).