PM chairs First meeting of Governing Body of Anusandhan National Research Foundation

Newdelhi:10/9/24:Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the first meeting of the Governing Board of Anusandhan National Research Foundation at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg earlier today. The meeting focussed on a discussion about India’s Science and Technology landscape and redesigning of research and development programs.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister said that today a new beginning has been made with the first meeting of the Governing Body of Anusandhan National Research Foundation. Prime Minister stressed the need to identify and remove obstacles in the research ecosystem of the country. He talked about setting big targets, focusing on attaining them, and doing path-breaking research. He said that research should focus on finding new solutions to existing problems. He emphasized that problems might be global but their solutions must be localised under Indian needs.

Prime Minister discussed the need for the upgradation and standardization of institutions. He suggested preparing a list of domain experts based on their expertise. He also talked about developing a dashboard where information related to research and development happening in the country can be easily tracked.

Prime Minister stressed the need for Scientific monitoring of the utilization of resources for research and innovation. Saying that this is an ambitious beginning, he said the scientific community of the country should have faith that there will be no dearth of resources for their endeavors. Discussing the positive impacts of Atal Tinkering Labs, the Prime Minister suggested that grading of these labs can be done. He also discussed research in various areas like looking for new solutions to environmental change, battery ingredients for EVs, and lab-grown diamonds, among others.

During the meeting, the Governing Body decided to launch a program in the hub and spoke mode by pairing universities where research is at a nascent stage with top-tier established institutions in mentorship mode.

Governing Body also discussed several areas of strategic interventions of ANRF which include global positioning of India in key sectors, aligning R&D with national priorities, promoting inclusive growth, capacity building, driving scientific advances and innovation ecosystem, as well as bridging the gap between academic research and industrial applications through industry-aligned translational research.

The ANRF will launch programs on solution-focused research in a mission mode in select priority areas like Electric Vehicle (EV) mobility, Advanced Materials, Solar Cells, Smart Infrastructure, Health & Medical Technology, Sustainable Agriculture, and Photonics. The Governing Body observed that these efforts would impact and supplement our march towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

While underscoring translational research with active participation from the industry, the Governing Body also emphasized promoting fundamental research for the advancement of knowledge. It was decided to set up Centers of Excellence to support interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences. It was also agreed that there was a need to empower our researchers with flexible and transparent funding mechanisms towards achieving ease of doing research.

The Governing Body also directed that the ANRF strategies should align with the goals of Viksit Bharat 2047 and implementation should follow global best practices adopted by research and development agencies across the world.

The meeting was attended by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education as the Vice-President of the 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

Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has been established to promote research and development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s Universities, Colleges, Research Institutions, and R&D laboratories. ANRF acts as an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country as per recommendations of the National Education Policy.  ANRF forges collaborations among the industry, academia, government departments, and research institutions.