IIT-Bombay and IISER Pune designated as research hubs under national initiative

IIT-Bombay and IISER Pune named Hubs under ANRF, receiving ₹100 crore for research. Focus on multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation in India.

Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, have been named Hubs under the Advanced National Research Foundation (ANRF), a flagship initiative aimed at strengthening research capabilities in India’s state-run universities and institutes. Each institution is set to receive ₹100 crore over five years for thematic research, subject to departmental approval.

IIT-Bombay and IISER Pune designated as research hubs under national initiative

The announcement was made by Abhay Karandikar, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), during a talk at the University of Mumbai ahead of its convocation ceremony on Tuesday. Karandikar underscored the government’s focus on advancing basic sciences and revealed plans to fund principal investigators with grants ranging from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore over three years.

“To promote research in state-run universities, we are introducing various schemes under ANRF. While the central government is providing substantial funding, we also expect state governments to contribute,” Karandikar said.

Multidisciplinary research through T-Hubs

The ANRF has identified 31 institutions across India as T-Hubs, each designed to foster multidisciplinary research. According to Karandikar, these hubs integrate expertise from diverse fields, including physics, computer science, engineering, and material science, using a Hub-Spoke-Spike model. This framework aims to enhance collaboration between central hubs, regional research projects, and individual researchers, streamlining resource sharing and expertise across institutions.

India’s research output has seen remarkable growth, with the number of publications rising from 78,000 in 2012 to over 2.07 lakh in 2024. This places the country among the global top five in 45 of 64 critical research areas, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. However, Karandikar acknowledged existing gaps in technology development. “With ANRF, we aim to bridge these gaps by collaborating with industry through various schemes,” he said.

Focus on funding and innovation

Despite a doubling of gross research expenditure to 0.7% of GDP, private sector contributions remain at a modest 36.4%, with the government accounting for 65%. To address this, ANRF has been allocated ₹14,000 crore, with plans to create a ₹1 lakh crore corpus to support deep-tech start-ups during their gestation periods.

The ANRF initiative is aligned with national missions such as the Quantum Technology Mission and the Cyber Systems Mission to strengthen India’s science and technology ecosystem.

Karandikar stressed the government’s commitment to creating an environment conducive to research by minimising bureaucratic hurdles. “The future of Indian science is brighter than ever,” he concluded.

MU annual convocation today

The University of Mumbai’s annual convocation will be held today, January 7, at 10 am in the Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Convocation Hall, Fort. Maharashtra Governor and University Chancellor C P Radhakrishnan will preside over the ceremony, with professor Abhay Karandikar, secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, as the chief guest.

Degrees will be conferred upon 1,64,465 graduates, including 85,511 women and 78,954 men.