National Research Foundation’s vision: A chance at genuine innovation
Context
The Central government has finally given clearance to the establishment of National Research Foundation (NRF) as recommended by National Education Policy 2020.
Need for NRF
Static Funding- The number of doctoral students increased significantly. However, the overall funding under extramural grants has remained static.
Research in new areas - A competitive grant system provides the necessary leeway to accelerate research in new and emerging areas.
Prevalent amongst all developed countries- Almost all the developed countries and newly emerged economies of East Asia have a very strong competitive grant system which helps them in creating a strong research base.
Goals of the NRF
Promote the culture of Research-NRF will seed, grow and promote research and development (R&D)
Accelerate Innovation- It will foster a culture of innovation throughout Indian universities, colleges, institutions, and R&D laboratories
Need-based research- It will bring focus on need-based research and help support research in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences and social sciences.
Way Forward
Time-bound, ICT-based system -The first task of NRF administration should be to implement a time-bound, ICT-based system for managing the projects and disbursing a grant of Rs 3,000 crore in the launch year of NRF, hopefully 2023-24.
Wide discussion- The suggestions given by academies to improve the R & D ecosystem should be discussed more widely within the scientific community.
Procedural Changes- Discussions should also be done on the procedural changes that will make the NRF-run competitive grant system a grand success.