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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4194
ANSWERED ON 18/03/2026
INSPIRE SCHEME
4194. SHRI KARAN BHUSHAN SINGH:
Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:
(a) the details of funds allocated, released and utilized under the
Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scheme during
the last five years, separately for awards, internships, scholarships,
fellowships and faculty programmes;
(b) the number of schools registered on the e-MIAS (e-Management of
INSPIRE Awards Scheme) portal, State/UT-wise and particularly the number
of Government schools registered in Uttar Pradesh;
(c) the number of Government school students who have received
INSPIRE- Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and Knowledge
(MANAK) awards across the country with specific details relating to Uttar
Pradesh during the last five years;
(d) the number of ideas or projects from students of Uttar Pradesh under
the INSPIRE-MANAK scheme that have been recommended for patent filing,
filed for patents and granted patents respectively; and
(e) whether any steps are being taken to increase participation of
Government schools, particularly in educationally backward or rural
districts, under the INSPIRE-MANAK scheme and if so, the details of such
initiatives?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES
(DR. JITENDRA SINGH)
(a) The Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)
Scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government
of India is a national initiative aimed at attracting talented youth to study
basic and natural sciences and pursue research careers in areas such as
engineering, medicine, agriculture, and veterinary sciences, thereby
strengthening the country’s research and development base. The scheme
Page 1 of 4operates through multiple components across different educational stages.
INSPIRE-MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and
Knowledge) targets students aged 10-17 studying in Classes VI–XII by
encouraging innovative ideas and scientific curiosity; schools can nominate
up to five students annually through the E-MIAS portal, and selected
students receive ₹10,000 through Direct Benefit Transfer to develop and
present their projects at district, state, and national exhibitions. INSPIRE
Internship provides five-day residential science camps for about 50,000 top
1% students at the Class X board level, allowing them to interact with
leading scientists and Nobel Laureates and motivating them to pursue
science. Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) supports talented students
aged 17-22 with 12,000 scholarships each year worth ₹80,000 per annum to
pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees in basic and natural sciences along
with mentoring opportunities. At the research level, the INSPIRE Fellowship
supports outstanding students pursuing PhD programs for up to five years
with fellowships equivalent to CSIR-UGC NET (₹37,000 per month as JRF
and ₹42,000 as SRF plus HRA and contingency grant of ₹20,000 per annum).
Additionally, the INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship offers early-career post-
doctoral researchers aged 27–32 a five-year fellowship with ₹1,25,000 per
month, annual increments, and a research grant of ₹35 lakh to establish
independent research careers in basic and applied sciences. Together,
these components create a continuous pipeline to nurture scientific talent
from school level to advanced research. The details of funds allocated/
released/utilized under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired
Research (INSPIRE) scheme during the last five years are given below:
(Rs. in Cr.)
Program/Financial 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
Year (As on
12.03.2026)
INSPIRE-MANAK 56.10 51.50 53.72 58.29 64.65
INSPIRE-Internship - - 0.34 1.75 0.78
INSPIRE-SHE 196.63 245.44 216.12 218.67 227.48
INSPIRE Fellowship 160.05 109.00 140.36 129.01 223.21
INSPIRE Faculty 86.57 47.44 47.17 35.31 76.06
Fellowship
Page 2 of 4(b) the number of schools registered on the e-MIAS (e-Management of
INSPIRE Awards Scheme) portal, State/UT-wise are given below:
Sr. Total no of school
States/UTs
No. registered on E-MIAS
1 Andaman and Nicobar 247
2 Andhra Pradesh 21343
3 Arunachal Pradesh 251
4 Assam 6067
5 Bihar 45479
6 Chandigarh 227
7 Chhattisgarh 34692
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and
8 367
Daman and Diu
9 Delhi 2914
10 Goa 573
11 Gujarat 35843
12 Haryana 12842
13 Himachal Pradesh 7436
14 Jammu and Kashmir 16797
15 Jharkhand 32242
16 Karnataka 78072
17 Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan 1237
18 Kerala 6712
19 Ladakh 500
20 Lakshadweep 67
21 Madhya Pradesh 71671
22 Maharashtra 24682
23 Manipur 280
24 Meghalaya 1641
25 Mizoram 2738
26 Nagaland 1372
27 Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti 617
28 Odisha 43821
29 Puducherry 3093
30 Punjab 22663
31 Rajasthan 57418
32 Sikkim 3025
33 Tamil Nadu 35801
Page 3 of 4Sr. Total no of school
States/UTs
No. registered on E-MIAS
34 Telangana 19720
35 Tripura 5993
36 Uttar Pradesh 88842
37 Uttarakhand 7441
38 West Bengal 3659
Total 698385
Out of the total registered schools in Uttar Pradesh, 73,873 are Government
schools.
(c) During the last five years, a total of 1,82,430 students from
Government schools across the country have received awards under the
INSPIRE-Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and Knowledge
(MANAK) scheme. Among these beneficiaries, 10,988 students belong to
Government schools in Uttar Pradesh, who have received financial
assistance under the scheme for developing and showcasing their
innovative ideas and projects.
(d) Under the INSPIRE–MANAK Scheme, 93 student ideas/projects from
Uttar Pradesh have been supported with prototype development funding.
Out of these innovations, 10 ideas/ projects have been recommended and
filed for patent applications, and 3 of these patent applications have been
successfully granted patents.
(e) The Department has undertaken several initiatives to enhance
participation of Government schools, particularly in rural and educationally
backward districts, under the INSPIRE–MANAK scheme. These include
organization of online orientation meetings and training programmes for
teachers, District Nodal Officers and other stakeholders across districts. To
further strengthen awareness and participation, the Department has
organized orientation workshops, disseminated audio-visual promotional
materials and brochures to schools, and operationalized a cloud-based web
portal and mobile application for seamless nomination and evaluation. In
addition, a structured mentoring and capacity-building ecosystem has been
developed wherein State-level awardees receive mentorship at premier
institutions such as IITs, NITs, IISERs and Central Universities in
collaboration with the National Innovation Foundation (NIF).
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