Research should be focussed on finding new solutions to existing problems and although these concerns could be global in nature, their solutions must be localised in accordance with Indian needs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday while chairing the first meeting of the governing board of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) at his residence.

Modi said there is a need to identify and remove obstacles in the research ecosystem of the country and it was decided to launch a programme in hub and spoke mode by pairing universities where research is at nascent stage with top tier established institutions in mentorship mode.

As per details provided by the ministry of Science and Technology, the PM spoke about setting big targets, focusing on attaining them and carrying out path breaking research. “The meeting also discussed areas of strategic interventions of ANRF which include global positioning of India in key sectors, aligning R&D with national priorities, promoting inclusive growth, capacity building, driving scientific advances and innovation ecosystem, as well as bridging the gap between academic research and industrial applications through industry-aligned translational research,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ANRF was established to promote research and development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s Universities, Colleges, Research Institutions, and R&D laboratories. It acts as an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country as per recommendations of the National Education Policy.

The meeting also discussed the need for upgradation and standardisation of institutions and the PM suggested preparing a list of domain experts based on their expertise; and developing a dashboard where information related to research and development in the country can be easily tracked.

“Prime Minister stressed upon the need for Scientific monitoring of utilisation of resources for research and innovation. And said the scientific community of the country should have faith that there will be no dearth of resources for their endeavours,” the statement said.

Referring to the positive impacts of Atal Tinkering Labs, he suggested grading of these labs and discussed research in various areas such as finding new solutions to environment change, battery ingredients for EVs, lab grown diamonds, among others.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan who was present for the meeting in a post on ‘X’ said, “A landmark day for Bharat’s research and development landscape as Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads the ANRF. Aligned with the goals outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, the ANRF will bring more scale, strength and synergies in research, innovation and entrepreneurship, help achieve sustainable development goals and establish India as a hub of frontier research and solutions.”

The ANRF will launch programmes on solution-focussed research in mission mode in select priority areas like Electric Vehicle (EV) mobility, Advanced Materials, Solar Cells, Smart Infrastructure, Health & Medical Technology, Sustainable Agriculture and Photonics and it has been decided to set up Centers of Excellence to support interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences, the statement said.

Among those present for the meeting were the principal scientific adviser to the Government of India as member secretary, member (science), NITI Aayog and Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research and Department of Higher Education as its ex-officio members; Prof. Manjul Bhargava (Princeton University, USA), Dr. Romesh T Wadhwani (Symphony Technology Group, USA), Prof. Subra Suresh (Brown University, USA), Dr. Raghuvendra Tanwar (Indian Council of Historical Research) among others.

Culled from Hindustan Times