Although the star formation process has been studied for decades, manyimportant aspects of the physics involved remain unsolved. Recent advancementof instrumentation in the infrared, far-infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengthregimes have contributed to a significantly improved understanding of processesin the interstellar medium (ISM) leading to star formation. The future ofresearch on the ISM and star formation looks exciting with instruments like theJWST, ALMA, etc., already contributing to the topic by gatheringhigh-resolution high-sensitivity data and with several larger ground- andspace-bound facilities either being planned or constructed. India has a sizablenumber of astronomers engaged in research on topics related to the ISM and starformation. In this white paper invited by the Astronomical Society of India toprepare a vision document for Indian astronomy, we review the Indiancontributions to the global understanding of the star formation process andsuggest areas that require focused efforts both in creating observingfacilities and in theoretical front in India, in order to improve the impact ofour research in the coming decades.