Context: 15-member Governing Board and a 16-member Executive Council of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), lack representation from or any entrepreneurs from the country or eminent academics from the Central and State universities on the committee, especially when the ANRF plans to raise more than 70% of its funding from non-government sources and industry.
About National Research Foundation (NRF):
- It is an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country as per recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP).
- The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is the administrative Department of NRF which will be governed by a Governing Board consisting of eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines.
- The Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the Governing Board and the Union Minister of Science & Technology & Union Minister of Education will be the ex-officio Vice-Presidents.
- NRF’s functioning will be governed by an Executive Council chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
Mission and Vision
- The NRF is entrusted with the mission of catalysing the transformation of Indian institutions into world-class Centers of Excellence (CoEs).
- Its vision is to provide high-level strategic direction for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship across a wide spectrum of fields, including natural sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, health and agriculture, and the interfaces of humanities and social sciences with science and technology.
Functions and Responsibilities
- Formulating Comprehensive Roadmaps: The NRF is responsible for developing comprehensive research and development roadmaps that guide India’s scientific and technological progress.
- Fostering R&D Infrastructure: It actively works towards facilitating and financing the growth of research and development infrastructure in universities, colleges, and research institutions.
- Grant Provision:
- The NRF plays a crucial role in providing grants for research proposals, enabling scientists and researchers to undertake innovative projects.
- Funding competitive peer-reviewed grant proposals to eligible persons.
- International Collaboration:
- Evolving participation in international collaborative projects and fostering exchange of scientific information.
- Encouraging collaboration with scientists from within and outside India, including scientists of Indian origin, with a view to enrich the Indian scientific ecosystem.
- Coordination at National Level: Evolving nationally coordinated programmes to identify scientific and practical solutions for societal, developmental, financial and techno-economic challenges.
- Public and Private Investment: The NRF aims to foster investments from both the public and private sectors, further boosting the growth of India’s research ecosystem.
- Translation of Research: Supporting translation of research undertaken into capital intensive technologies.
- Global Participation: Increasing India’s role and participation in key areas of national and global importance.
Way forward:
- The board and the council need representatives who understand the bottlenecks in the current system, especially in the university system, and know how to get things done on the ground rather than being in an advisory role.
- The ANRF must function unlike any other current government science department. It should have more diverse representations of practising natural and social scientists from the university system, with more women and young entrepreneurs in its committee.
- The future chief executive officer of the ANRF must have a background in both industry and academia, and be someone who can raise money for the ANRF and understand the global innovation ecosystem.
- ANRF needs to avoid the confusion that can arise from multiple committees. Therefore, creating a single committee to formulate and implement strategies on the ground is crucial.
- To achieve the research and development budget to 4% of GDP , the ANRF must:
- be adequately staffed;
- implement a robust grant management system;
- have an internal standard peer-review system with an incentive for reviewers;
- ensure timely disbursal of research grants and student fellowships with a quick turn-around time (less than six months) between application and fund disbursal;
- have a system free from bureaucratic hurdles both at the funding body and at grantee institutions;
- provide flexibility of spending money without following the government’s stringent general financial rules (GFR), and permit purchases without going through the Government e-marketplace (GeM) portal.