Mahesh T. Pai wrote:
I do not quite see why their qualifications or backgrounds matter;
It looks like Pai is in good company. Galilio is believed to have said, "the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." Free Software is a product of the scientific community standing on its own weight and needs no props. Besides, the CSIR is a scientific body, and could reasearch our representions. Therefore, as Pai suggested, there is no need to give names, qualifications or backgrounds in the memorandum.
However, if the requests come from the scientists and research scholars themselves, we can articulate more strongly.