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. 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 first meeting of the governing body of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). 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, according to the statement. The Prime Minister also discussed the need for upgradation and standardisation of institutions and suggested preparing a list of domain experts on the basis of their expertise. He stressed on the need for scientific monitoring of utilisation of resources for research and innovation. Asserting that this was an ambitious beginning, he said the country’s scientific community should have faith that there would be no dearth of resources for their endeavours. Discussing the positive impacts 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 the 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. The governing body also discussed several areas of strategic interventions of ANRF that include 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. The 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, the governing body 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 the ANRF strategies should align with the goals of Viksit Bharat 2047 and implementation follow global best practices adopted by research and development agencies across the world, the statement said. 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. The 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 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. The ANRF forges collaborations among the industry, academia, and Government departments and research institutions.