Parliament Question: Infrastructure for Science and Technology in Universities and other Institutes

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4015 ANSWERED ON 12/08/2026 INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER INSTITUTES 4015. SHRI ESWARASAMY K: Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government proposes to any scheme for strengthening the basic infrastructure for Science and Technology in universities and other institutes of higher education; (b) if so, the details of numbers of universities/ educational departments identified, State-wise; and (c) the steps taken by the Government to encourage the young scientists for undertaking serious scientific works in the country? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH) (a) to (b): To strengthen basic scientific infrastructure, Department of Science and Technology (DST) is implementing various schemes such as Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions (FIST), Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) and Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence (CURIE) in competitive mode. Support is also extended to Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facilities (SAIF) centers for acquiring research facilities; many of these centers are located at universities and providing the facilities of sophisticated analytical instruments to the researchers in general and specially from the institutions which do not have access to such instruments to pursue R&D activities. Five national-level Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institute (SATHI) centers have been established at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Banaras Hindu Page 1 of 4University, Varanasi, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad and Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. These SATHI centers are professionally managed and offering shared access to cutting-edge S&T infrastructure under one roof. They support S&T-led innovation, start-ups, technology development, and research in emerging areas. Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has been supporting the development of research infrastructure at universities and research institutions across the country with the primary objective to augment life science and biotechnology research activities through DBT- Boost to University Interdisciplinary Life Science Departments for Education and Research Programme (DBT BUILDER) scheme. Star College programme (for Undergraduate Colleges) and Post Graduate Teaching programme also supports scientific infrastructure and laboratory infrastructure. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) provides support to Agricultural Universities for upgrading, strengthening, and modernizing student amenities, teaching and learning infrastructure to enhance the overall standards of higher agricultural education. The number of universities, academic institutions and colleges supported under various schemes of DST and DBT in various State are enclosed at Annexure-I. (c) The Government is implementing various schemes in DST, DBT, ANRF, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), ICAR and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to encourage young scientists to undertake high-quality scientific research. DST is implementing Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) , INSPIRE Fellowship and INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship; Women in Science and Engineering - Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (WISE-KIRAN) scheme encourages women scientists, to pursue research careers through WISE-PhD, WISE-Societal Challenges with Opportunities (WISE-SCOPE ) and, WISE-Internship in Intellectual Property Rights (WISE- IPR). Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship for high-quality water research and Post-Doctoral Fellowship (PDF) under the Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI) to promote interdisciplinary research in cognitive science are also implemented. DBT is implementing DBT-Junior Research Fellowship (DBT-JRF) and DBT- Research Associateship (DBT-RA) supports postdoctoral researchers in frontier areas of biotechnology. The Ramalingaswami Re-entry Research Programme enables Indian scientists working abroad to establish independent research careers in India. The BioCARe (Biotechnology Page 2 of 4Career Advancement and Re-orientation) Programme promotes independent biotechnology research by women scientists and the M.K. Bhan Research Programme provides fellowships and research grants to young postdoctoral life sciences researchers. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) provides doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships to young researchers. CSIR also offers the Raman Research Fellowship to enable its young scientists to pursue advanced research in emerging priority areas at leading international institutions. ANRF–National Post Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) aimed at identifying motivated young researchers to undertake research in frontier areas of science and engineering under the mentorship of experienced scientists. Prime Minister's Early Career Research Grant provides support to young researchers in establishing their research careers and the Ramanujan Fellowship attracts outstanding Indian and Indian-origin scientists and engineers working abroad to establish research careers in India. To attract and sustain the interest of youth in agriculture education and serious scientific research, ICAR provides stipends and fellowships/assistance under various programmes both at undergraduate (UG) and post graduate (PG) level. DRDO introduced a research fellowship scheme to provide opportunity to bright, young scientists/engineers to carry out research work leading to earning of higher qualification or for acquisition of research experience in defence R & D. DRDO also offers paid internship scheme for students pursuing their graduation / post-graduation in relevant disciplines of engineering and sciences. These programmes provide research fellowships, mentorship, skill development, capacity building, and opportunities for career advancement, thereby enabling young scientists to undertake quality scientific research and contribute to the country's Science, Technology and Innovation ecosystem. Page 3 of 4Annexure-I Number of Universities, academic S. States & Union institutes & science colleges supported No. Territories under various infrastructure schemes of DST & DBT during the last five years 1. Andhra Pradesh 16 2. Arunachal Pradesh 05 3. Assam 29 4. Bihar 18 5. Chandigarh 12 6. Chhattisgarh 19 7. Delhi 28 8. Goa 09 9. Gujarat 28 10. Haryana 13 11. Himachal Pradesh 10 12. Jammu And Kashmir 29 13. Jharkhand 16 14. Karnataka 37 15. Kerala 57 16. Ladakh 02 17. Madhya Pradesh 17 18. Maharashtra 56 19. Manipur 03 20. Meghalaya 04 21. Mizoram 04 22. Nagaland 02 23. Odisha 25 24. Puducherry 11 25. Punjab 39 26. Rajasthan 37 27. Tamil Nadu 107 28. Telangana 35 29. Tripura 03 30. Uttar Pradesh 39 31. Uttarakhand 10 32. West Bengal 35 ***** Page 4 of 4