New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the first meeting of the Governing Board of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) at his residence on 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. The meeting focused on India’s Science and Technology landscape and the redesigning of research and development (R&D) programs to meet the country’s needs.
Removing obstacles and setting ambitious targets
During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi stated that a new beginning had been made with the Governing Board’s first session. He emphasized the need to identify and eliminate obstacles in the country’s research ecosystem, urging the need to set ambitious goals, focus on achieving them, and engage in groundbreaking research. Modi highlighted that while problems might be global, solutions must be tailored to meet Indian needs.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of upgrading and standardizing research institutions across India. He suggested creating a list of domain experts based on their areas of expertise and developing a dashboard to track research and development progress across the nation. Modi also emphasized the need for scientific monitoring of resource utilization for research and innovation, reassuring the scientific community that there would be no shortage of resources for their work.
Launching mentorship programs for universities
The Governing Body agreed to launch a “hub and spoke” program by pairing universities where research is still in its early stages with top-tier established institutions. The goal is to foster mentorship and elevate research standards in lesser-known institutions.
Strategic interventions for national priorities
The Governing Board discussed several strategic interventions of ANRF, including India’s global positioning in key sectors, aligning R&D efforts with national priorities, promoting inclusive growth, and building the country’s scientific and innovation capacity. The Board stressed the importance of bridging the gap between academic research and industrial applications through industry-aligned translational research.
Solution-focused research in key sectors
ANRF will launch mission-mode programs to address priority areas such as Electric Vehicle (EV) mobility, Advanced Materials, Solar Cells, Smart Infrastructure, Health & Medical Technology, Sustainable Agriculture, and Photonics. These programs will be crucial to India’s march towards self-reliance (Aatmanirbhar Bharat).
Promoting fundamental research and centers of excellence
The Governing Board emphasized the need to support fundamental research for the advancement of knowledge. Plans were laid out to establish Centers of Excellence for interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences. Additionally, the Board decided to empower researchers with flexible and transparent funding mechanisms to enhance the ease of doing research.
ANRF’s vision for 2047
The Governing Body aligned ANRF’s strategies with the broader goals of “Viksit Bharat 2047,” with implementation strategies inspired by global best practices in research and development agencies.
The meeting was attended by Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education as the Vice-President of Governing Body, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India as Member Secretary, Member (Science), NITI Aayog and Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research and Department of Higher Education as its ex-officio members. Other prominent participants included Prof. Manjul Bhargava (Princeton University, USA), Dr. Romesh T Wadhwani (Symphony Technology Group, USA), Prof. Subra Suresh (Brown University, USA), Dr. Raghuvendra Tanwar (Indian Council of Historical Research), Prof. Jayaram N. Chengalur (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) and Prof. G Rangarajan (Indian Institute of Science).
About Anusandhan National Research Foundation
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) was established to promote research, innovation, and development across India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories. ANRF provides strategic direction for scientific research as per the National Education Policy’s recommendations, forging collaborations between industry, academia, and government departments.
