Parliament Question: Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 254 ANSWERED ON 05/08/2026 PRIME MINISTER EARLY CAREER RESEARCH GRANT *254. SMT. MAHIMA KUMARI MEWAR: SHRI JANARDAN MISHRA: Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government intends to augment existing frameworks with the Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant to curb the brain drain of high-caliber researchers, if so, details thereof; (b) the details of Central Government initiatives designed to identify and incentivize young scientific talent including the total count of scholars selected under these flagship programmes during the preceding five-year duration; and (c) the details of active scholarship schemes facilitating domestic and international higher education for meritorious students including eligibility criteria and an assessment of their operational efficacy in rural and remote regions inhabited by marginalized communities particularly in the districts under Bharatpur Lok Sabha Constituency? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH) (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House. Page 1 of 5Statement as referred in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 254 for reply on 05.08.2026 on “Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant” (a) The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has launched the Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant (PMECRG) programme to provide financial assistance to early career researchers in recognized academic institutions and public-funded R&D laboratories across the country to undertake research in frontier areas of science and engineering. The programme aims to strengthen the research ecosystem by enabling early career researchers to establish independent research programmes, pursue high-quality research with flexibility, and build long-term research careers in India. By supporting researchers at the early stages of their careers, the programme seeks to enhance research opportunities within the country and contribute to the retention of scientific talent. The number of young researchers supported by ANRF under the Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant (PMECRG) programme since its launch till 29 July 2026 is given below: Financial Year Number of projects supported 2025-26 714 2026-27 578 ANRF has also launched National Post Doctoral Fellowship (NPDF) programme to support young researchers after finishing Ph.D. which is effective to retain them in the country. N-PDF is aimed at identifying motivated young researchers and providing them with support for doing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. The fellows will work under a mentor, and it is hoped that this training will provide them a platform to develop as independent researchers. The year-wise details of the total number of NPDF fellows supported by ANRF during the last five years are given below: Financial Year Number of fellows supported 2021-22 272 2022-23 235 2023-24 96 2024-25 205 2025-26 557 Page 2 of 5(b) The Government has launched several initiatives to identify, nurture and incentivize young scientific talent across different stages of the research and innovation ecosystem. These include the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant (PMECRG) and the National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), Ramalingaswami Re- entry Research Programme of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme of the Ministry of Education. The INSPIRE Scheme aims to attract meritorious students to pursue higher education and research careers in science and technology through its various components, including INSPIRE-MANAK, INSPIRE Fellowship and INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship. The details of scholars/researchers selected under the INSPIRE programmes during the last five years are given below: INSPIRE Faculty Financial Year INSPIRE MANAK INSPIRE Fellowship Fellowship 2021-22 52720 359 71 2022-23 43381 919 86 2023-24 46926 796 100 2024-25 50009 305 58 2025-26 49805 856 171 The Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme was launched in 2026 by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, aims to attract and engage distinguished Indian-origin researchers, scientists and professionals with international research experience to strengthen India's higher education and research ecosystem through research, mentorship and institutional capacity building. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT)’s Ramalingaswami Re-entry Research Programme facilitates the return and reintegration of highly skilled Indian scientists working overseas into the country's research and innovation ecosystem. The Programme supports up to 75 outstanding Indian scientists each year and provides fellowship support to encourage talented researchers to pursue research careers in India. The year-wise number of Page 3 of 5scientists selected under the DBT Ramalingaswami Re-entry Research Programme during the last five years is given below: Programme/ Scheme Year Year-wise No. of Young scientists selected 2020-21 75 DBT 2021-22 61 Ramalingaswami 2022-23 47 Re-entry Fellowship 2023-24 36 2024-25* Result to be issued (c) The INSPIRE Scholarship for Higher Education (INSPIRE-SHE) component of the INSPIRE Scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) encourages meritorious students to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate studies in basic and natural sciences through scholarships and mentorship opportunities. The Scheme provides up to 12,000 scholarships annually to meritorious students. Eligible applicants include students securing top 1% marks in Class XII examinations conducted by Central/State Boards and pursuing undergraduate or integrated postgraduate programmes in basic and natural sciences under the Direct Mode. Under the Institutional Mode, students admitted to specified premier institutions such as IITs, IISERs and NISER through notified national-level competitive examinations are also eligible. Continuation of the scholarship is subject to the student maintaining the prescribed academic performance, in accordance with the Scheme guidelines. Financial Year No. of Beneficiaries INSPIRE-SHE 2021-22 8643 2022-23 8447 2023-24 7976 2024-25 9492 2025-26 9046 The schemes are implemented across the country in accordance with their respective guidelines. The details of beneficiaries/scholars selected from the districts under Bharatpur Lok Sabha Constituency under these schemes are given below: Page 4 of 5Bharatpur Constituency F.Y. Number of Beneficiaries Released Amount 2021-2022 273 27300000 2022-2023 289 26400000 2023-2024 215 17280000 2024-2025 140 9960000 2025-2026 144 11700000 Total 1061 92640000 Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Yojana Scholarship for College and University Students, implemented by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, provides financial assistance to meritorious students from economically weaker families for pursuing higher education. Students securing a position in the top 20th percentile of successful candidates in the Class XII examination conducted by the respective Board and having an annual family income of up to ₹4.5 lakh are eligible to apply. The Scheme provides up to 82,000 fresh scholarships annually, with 50% of the scholarships earmarked for girl students, besides reservation for eligible categories as per Government norms. The details of scholarships disbursed under the Scheme in the Bharatpur Lok Sabha Constituency during the last five academic years are given below: Scholarships disbursed under PM-USP CSSS in districts under Bharatpur Constituency (Fresh + Renewal) A. Y. Number of Beneficiaries 2021-2022 1575 2022-2023 1606 2023-2024 1279 2024-2025 919 2025-2026 890 Total 6269 PM-USP Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (SSS) scheme, implemented by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, provides financial assistance to students domiciled in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to pursue higher education outside these Union Territories. Eligible students are selected in accordance with the Scheme guidelines. The Scheme provides 5,000 fresh scholarships annually. ***** Page 5 of 5