Transforming India’s research landscape

Today, the world is taken aback by India’s amazing scientific potential and prowess that was dormant and unnoticed, but was waiting to emerge whenever provided with an enabling milieu and supportive leadership. As per the Science and Engineering Research Board data, averaged over the last 10 years, nearly 65% of total research funds are being given to institutions of national importance such as Indian Institutes of Science, Indian Institutes of Technology, and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, and only 11% of funds are provided to state universities, where the number of researchers is much larger. It was the vision of PM Modi to establish a truly transformational Anusandhan National Research Foundation, which will not only address some of the big challenges of the present research and development ecosystem but also provide a long-term R&D vision, positioning India as a global R&D leader in the next five years. ANRF will seed, grow and promote R&D and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories. The private sector contributions in the proposed ANRF are being introduced to the tune of ₹36,000 crore for five years, at nearly ₹7,200 crore per year.