National Research Foundation Nod Likely This Month: All You Want To Know

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government could this month give its nod for the establishment of the ambitious ‘National Research Foundation’ for funding and monitoring quality research in the country including educational institutes.

The detailed project report has been finalised and the proposal could be put up before the Union Cabinet soon for approval, news reports on Tuesday said.

The proposal to set by the body was first announced during the presentation of the interim budget in January this year. The draft National Policy on Education, which was submitted to the government in May this year, also suggested setting up of the foundation.

According to reports, about 80 experts including NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, former revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, principal scientific adviser to the PM, K VijayRaghavan, former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, former Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan and top HRD officials had given a detailed plan on setting up the foundation to the HRD Ministry.

Key points:

The foundation could be set up under an act of Parliament.
A network of centres of excellence to be set up in premier institutes functioning under the aegis of the foundation.
The foundation will fund research projects through grants in areas such as oceanography, nanotechnology, and Information & Communication Technology. It will also support post-doctoral students.
The Prime Minister will act as the chairman of the foundation

Where does India stand in research: 

According to the draft national policy on education, the total investment on research and innovation in India has declined from 0.84 per cent of GDP in 2008 to 0.69 per cent in 2014. India also lags behind many nations in the number of researchers (per lakh population), patents and publications.

Suggestion of the draft national policy in education:

The Foundation will consist of four major divisions: sciences, technology, social sciences, and arts and humanities, with the provision to add additional divisions. The Foundation will be provided with an annual grant of Rs 20,000 crore, which is 0.1 per cent of the GDP.