India’s new National Research Foundation (NRF) will soon be established, following approval by the country’s Parliament in August 2023.

This new apex body, modelled on the National Science Foundation of the United States, will have statutory powers with the responsibility to provide strategic direction, co-ordination and funding for research and innovation across the country, as well as bringing together research grants that are currently co-ordinated by separate bodies, such as individual ministries.

As one of the recommendations of the Indian national education policy 2020, the NRF is expected to address fragmentation in India’s research landscape, whilst removing barriers and building India’s capability in the field of research and innovation.  It will have a budget of Rs 50,000 crore (GBP 4.8 billion) for five years (2023-28), of which 28 per cent will come from government sources, with the remaining 72 per cent coming from the private sector. 

The NRF will incorporate the existing Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), which has so far been responsible for funding science and technology start-ups, incubators and projects in central and state universities. 

It will also have an expanded mandate to cover research in social sciences, arts and humanities and interdisciplinary research, to develop sustainable solutions to enhance security and promote societal progress.

British Council comments

As the new funding body for Indian research, the new NRF will be extremely relevant to UK universities who are active in research partnerships in India, or who are considering such partnerships.

New rules and regulations will be developed by the NRF, which are likely to cover project and funding guidelines, in line with the broader objectives for which the NRF has been established. These include supporting research at universities and colleges; identifying national priorities such as clean energy, climate change and sustainable infrastructure; reducing bureaucratic hurdles; and promoting internationalisation.

Existing mechanisms and rules will continue to operate until these new regulations have been set up, and in the near term, projects are expected to carry on without any disruption. It is possible that some adjustments might need to be made to ongoing projects once the new guidelines are introduced.

It is speculated that the NRF will be operational by end of the year. It would subsume approved and ongoing projects of the SERB and may be able to initiate new projects within this financial year, if it is not too close to the 2024 elections embargo window.

The NRF forms part of a strategic shift towards building research capabilities in Indian higher education institutions across the board, including at state level, boosting industry and non-state partnerships and democratising research funding to remote and underserved areas. This shift could lead to various opportunities for UK institutions to engage with new partners in India. Currently, less than one per cent of India’s approximately 40,000 higher education institutions engage in research. UK HEIs could actively consider being involved as a mentee and partner in building the required research potential and knowledge creation amongst Indian institutions.

According to government announcements, a large proportion of the NRF’s funding is to be raised from the private sector, which includes industry and philanthropists from both India and overseas. However it is not yet clear at this stage how this would be implemented to meet the said target.

Sources:

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1947230

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/national-research-foundation-gets-centre-nod-rs-50000-crore-over-5-years-for-rd-8691434/

https://ikcri.center/upload/pdf/rel-repo/National%20Research%20Foundation%20Report%20NRF.pdf

https://www.iasparliament.com/current-affairs/national-research-foundation-nrf-bill-2023