Research Funding Agencies in India

The research projects are classified into the following major subject areas:

• Agricultural Sciences
• Biological Sciences
• Chemical Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Engineering and Technology
• Medical Sciences
• Physical Sciences

The institutions have been classified into the following categories:

• Universities
• Deemed universities
• Science colleges
• Engineering colleges
• Medical/pharmacy colleges
• Institutes of national importance
• National laboratories
• Government departments/State S&T councils
• Scientific and Industrial Research Organizations
• Research institutions and voluntary organization

UGC Innovative Programmes Teaching and Research in Interdisciplinary Innovative and Emerging Areas 

Eligible Target Groups: The Universities / Institutes / Colleges which are fit to receive financial assistance under Section 2(f) and 12(B) of UGC Act

The UGC financial assistance will be provided on 100% basis. Funding may be granted for the most important and vital requirements of laboratory equipment, contingencies, staff, and so on for the initiation of courses in interdisciplinary and developing fields. On an actual basis, the financial support would be limited to Rs.60.00 lakhs for nonrecurring and recurring items, including staff (if authorized).

The duration of the Innovative Programme is for a period of 5 years

All India Council for Technical Education – Research Promotion Scheme

This programme encourages research in designated emphasis areas of technical education. RPS aims to develop a research atmosphere at institutes by fostering research in engineering sciences and breakthroughs in old and newer technologies, as well as to generate Masters and Doctoral degree candidates to improve faculty and research quality. The financing cap is Rs 25 lakh for a three-year project.

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

CSIR funds research in the domains of Science and Technology, including Agriculture, Engineering, and Medicine. Grants are offered to Professors/Experts in regular employment in universities, IITs, postgraduate institutions, and recognized R&D laboratories in both the public and private sectors. Applied research ideas, as well as those in basic sciences, that aim to tackle specific issues being studied by CSIR laboratories, or that are in newer and complementary disciplines, are evaluated for CSIR assistance.

Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) (DST)

Given the current state of the S&T sector in universities and related academic institutions, which are in desperate need of strengthening the existing S&T infrastructure support with adequate funding and associated flexibility, the Government of India announced a major new initiative titled “Fund for Improvement of S&T infrastructure in universities & higher educational institutions (FIST)” in the year 2000 to rebuild the Science & Technology infrastructure in the country.

Eligibility: Support will be considered for the ‘Department / School / Center’ as a unit for University / Academic Institutions. All Science (including Medical and Agriculture) and Engineering Departments/Centers with outstanding postgraduate teaching and research programmes that have operated in universities and other higher educational institutions for at least three years or more are eligible.

National Science & Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS) (DST)

The Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) National Science and Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS) division is the nodal agency for the gathering, analysis, and distribution of critical S&T information at the national level.

Under the NSTMIS Scheme, the division grants research projects/studies to interested investigators/organizations. S&T investment, S&T infrastructure, S&T output, S&T databases, S&T people, R&D productivity/efficiency, and so on are some of the larger areas where studies might be undertaken in the sponsored method.

Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS) (DST)

DST R&D initiates multidisciplinary and multi-institutional in nature, with the goal of creating approaches for constructing and encouraging the use of spatial data management and analytic technologies in local area planning. Any natural resource that is useful for local area development is appropriate for investigation in the context of NRDMS. NRDMS is assisting numerous academic and R&D institutions with projects concentrating on the need for local-level planning in order to create critical inputs for local planning strategies. The emphasis is on spatial data management and analysis technology for natural resource management in order to carry out research and development in informatics, particularly geo-informatics, in order to find solutions to local specific natural resource problems and provide necessary information to planners.

Science for Equity Empowerment and Development (SEED) (DST)

The Department of Science and Technology established the Science for Equity, Empowerment, and Development (SEED) Division with the broad objectives of providing opportunities to motivated scientists and field-level workers to take up action-oriented and location-specific projects aimed at socio-economic upliftment of poor and disadvantaged sections of society through appropriate technological interventions, particularly in rural areas. Efforts have been undertaken under this initiative to integrate concerned National Laboratories or other specialized S&T institutions with each major programme in order to include expert advice, leverage national S&T infrastructure, and connect it to grassroots.

Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI) (DST)

The Cognitive Science Research Initiative aims to transform research in a variety of domains, including: The nature and genesis of mental diseases, including physiological, social, and neurochemical causes, Better learning tools and educational paradigms are being designed, Improved software technologies and artificial intelligence gadgets are being developed and Streamlining the creation and analysis of social policies. Cognitive science has broad scopes that span several elements of cognition. DST has designated certain thrust areas in Cognitive Science, including as Foundations of Cognition, Language and Cognition, Computational Intelligence, Cognitive Psychology, and Cognitive Neuroscience, among others.

Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

DBT invites research proposals in prescribed format on various topics.

Call for Proposals: http://dbtindia.nic.in/

Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO)

Through Grant-in-Aid schemes of Research Boards and the ER & IPR, DRDO promotes innovative/basic research among Academic and Research Institutions across the nation. Grants are made available under these schemes to research organizations/ universities/ departments/ laboratories for fundamental scientific and engineering research, the establishment of basic facilities/ infrastructures, and the holding of conferences/ seminars/ symposia/ workshops, among other things.

For Area of interest and formats: http://drdo.gov.in/

National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) (DAE)

The NBHM has a number of programmes in place to assist institutions and people in strengthening their mathematical foundation/potential through study, exchange, or other similar activities. The NBHM offers funding for chosen research initiatives based on the recommendations of the NBHM Research Programmes Committee.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

ICMR invites proposals for enhancing research and development activities.

Department of Electronics and Information Technology

DEIT promotes collaborative R&D between industry and academic/research institutions for the development of products and packages, as well as bridging the gap between R&D and commercialization.

Establishment of Centers of Excellence in Science and Technology Frontier Areas (MHRD)

The Centre of Excellence is expected to be a collaborative activity between a team of high-quality researchers from the institution and researchers or research-users from several companies or organizations working on new and emerging technologies, multi-disciplinary and translational research relevant to national development goals.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Under its Extramural Research Program, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) provides financial assistance to promote research in the fields of medicine, public health, and associated fields. ICMR also awards Research Fellowships and Associateships (SRF/RA) to promising young scientists to conduct biomedical research under the expert supervision of Scientists/Faculty members at ICMR Permanent Research Institutes/Centres, other Biomedical Research Institutes, Medical Colleges, and Universities in India.

Components of a Research Proposal

• Introduction
• Research Problem / Problem statement
• Rationale / Purpose of the study
• Review of Literature
• Proposed Research framework
• Research Questions/ Proposed hypothesis
• Proposed methods
• Limitations
• Significance of the study
• Budget
• Gantt chart
• References

Journal papers for Proposal Guides

Hodgson C. Tips on writing successful grant proposals. Nurse Pract. 1989 Feb;14(2):44, 46, 49 passim. PMID: 2927750.

Kemp C. A practical approach to writing successful grant proposals. Nurse Pract. 1991 Nov;16(11):51, 55-6. PMID: 1766600.

Klopper H. The qualitative research proposal. Curationis. 2008 Dec;31(4):62-72. doi: 10.4102/curationis.v31i4.1062. PMID: 19653539.

Nte AR, Awi DD. Research proposal writing: breaking the myth. Niger J Med. 2006 Oct-Dec;15(4):373-81. doi: 10.4314/njm.v15i4.37249. PMID: 17111720.

Singh MD, Cameron C, Duff D. Writing proposals for research funds. Axone. 2005 Mar;26(3):26-30. PMID: 15835202.

Sudheesh K, Duggappa DR, Nethra SS. How to write a research proposal?. Indian J Anaesth. 2016;60(9):631-634. doi:10.4103/0019-5049.190617

Weinstein RD, Marshall-Rhodes S, Smith QW. Guide to grant applications. Radiol Technol. 1981 Jan-Feb;52(4):397-408. PMID: 7220855.

Woodward DK, Clifton GD. Development of a successful research grant application. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1994 Mar 15;51(6):813-22. PMID: 8010324.