ANRF unveils PM Professorships to bolster research in State universities

To tap into the expertise of retired scientists, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) — the newly constituted body for funding scientific research — has announced the Prime Minister Professorships.

Each selected Professor will receive an annual fellowship of ₹30 lakh, along with ₹24 lakh as a research grant for consumables, domestic travel, contingencies, equipment and other expenses. An overhead of ₹1 lakh per annum has also been provisioned.

The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), now subsumed under the ANRF, had earlier administered the SERB Distinguished Fellowship for retired scientists. That scheme offered a research grant of ₹20 lakh per annum and a monthly fellowship of ₹60,000.

Unlike previous fellowships, the new initiative is also open to overseas scientists, including Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin, and Overseas Citizens of India. Additionally, professionals from industry and experienced Professors of Practice with a “distinguished record” of research and innovation are eligible to apply.

A key distinction of the new programme is that recipients must be based at State universities that qualify as “spoke” institutions under Category A of the recently introduced Promoting Advanced and Inclusive Research (PAIR) programme of the ANRF.

The PAIR initiative links universities with nascent research ecosystems to top-tier institutions in a mentorship arrangement. Select Central Universities, National Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Information Technology have been classified as “spoke” institutions, while institutions ranked 25 or below in the National Institutional Ranking Framework are designated as “hubs”.

The selected Professors are expected to relocate, if necessary, to the host university and provide “sustained academic and research support to faculty and students in institutions with emerging research capacity”.

“Applicants with strong research credentials must be actively involved in research and innovation activities, and demonstrate a strong commitment to mentor faculty at the eligible State universities where research and innovation is still at a nascent stage,” stated a note from the ANRF announcing the fellowship.