PM Modi stresses need to identify, remove obstacles in research ecosystem

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stressed the need to identify and remove obstacles in the research ecosystem and focus on localised solution to global problems, as he chaired the first governing body meeting of the newly formed Anusandhan National Research Foundation.

Modi also talked about developing a dashboard where information related to research and development happening in the country could be easily tracked.

In a series of posts on X, Modi elaborated on the functioning of ANRF and its vision.

"Today marks a new chapter for India's scientific community. Chaired the first meeting of the governing board of Anusandhan National Research Foundation. This body will continue working towards ensuring a transformation of India's research landscape, thus breaking new ground in the world of science," he said.

Modi also said that "for a nation like ours, which is blessed with an innovative pool of young innovators, it is important we set big research targets and provide effective solutions to global problems".

"The government of India is committed to supporting every such endeavour and will also do everything possible to make research easy," he added.

Modi said the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) would work on futuristic areas such as mobility, advanced materials, sustainable agriculture, and health tech.

"We will also work to ensure greater collaboration between academic research and industry, driving growth and innovation," he added.

In another post, Modi called this the best time for research and innovation in India.

The meeting focussed on discussions about India's science and technology landscape and redesigning of research and development programmes, a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

During the meeting, Modi said a new beginning had been made with the governing body's first meeting.

He stressed on the need to identify and remove obstacles in the country's research ecosystem.

Modi also talked about setting big targets, focusing on attaining them and conducting pathbreaking research. He said research should focus on finding new solutions to existing problems.

He emphasised that problems might be global in nature but their solutions must be localised in accordance with Indian needs, the statement said.

The prime minister also discussed the need for upgradation and standardisation of institutions and suggested preparing a list of domain experts.

He stressed the need for scientific monitoring of utilisation of resources for research and innovation.

Asserting that this was an ambitious beginning, Modi said the country's scientific community should have faith that there would be no dearth of resources for their endeavours.

Discussing the positive impact of Atal Tinkering Labs, the prime minister suggested that grading of these labs could be done.

He also discussed research in various areas such as looking for new solutions to environment change, battery ingredients for electric vehicles, lab grown diamonds, among others.

During the meeting, the governing body decided to launch a programme in the hub-and-spoke mode by pairing universities where research was at a nascent stage with top-tier established institutions in mentorship mode.

It also discussed several areas of strategic interventions, including global positioning of India in key sectors, aligning research and development 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 statement said.

ANRF will launch programmes on solution-focussed research in mission mode in select priority areas such as electric vehicle mobility, advanced materials, solar cells, smart infrastructure, health and medical technology, sustainable agriculture and photonics.

The governing body observed that these efforts would impactfully supplement the march towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

While underscoring the translational research with active participation from the industry, it also emphasised promoting fundamental research for advancement of knowledge.

It was decided to set up centres of excellence to support interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences. It was also agreed that there was a need to empower researchers with flexible and transparent funding mechanism towards achieving ease of doing research.

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

The meeting was attended by Dharmendra Pradhan, Union education minister as vice-president of the governing body; principal scientific advisor to the government of India as member secretary; member (science), NITI Aayog; and the Department of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research and Department of Higher Education secretaries as ex-officio members.

Addressing a press briefing after the meeting, Department of Science & Technology Secretary Prof Abhay Karandikar said a crucial issue hindering India's research potential was that less than one per cent of the nation's 40,000 higher education institutions were engaged in research.

"Through PAIR (Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research), ANRF will link top-tier research institutions with those where research capability is limited, creating a collaborative mentorship environment," he said.

The goal is to create a hub-and-spoke framework that will enable these institutions to systematically enhance their research excellence, he said.

Additionally, ANRF is set to launch the Mission for Advancement in High-impact Areas (MAHA) to focus on critical areas of research.

ANRF was established to promote research and development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India's universities, colleges, research institutions, and research and development laboratories.

It acts as an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country, according to recommendations of the National Education Policy.

ANRF forges collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions.