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Research funding, institutions and awards

How Indian research is paid for and organised: research spending, the national research foundation and funds for innovation, science institutions and their reform, awards, and the careers of scientists. It serves GS3 answers on science policy.

Showing 4 of 7 articles, those that changed from 1 to 30 June 2026.Show all

Anusandhan National Research Foundation

Prelims and Mains

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) pays for research in universities and colleges, and its mandate is to widen the base beyond the institutions that already win grants.

Its Missions for Advancement in High Impact Areas (MAHA) already cover electric vehicles, drones, medical technology and 6G.

What changed

1 Jun 2026BriefANRF and the Jal Shakti Ministry launched the MAHA Water Mission, the fifth of these missions. PIB, 1 Jun 2026: Dr Jitendra Singh says ANRF is democratising research funding, launches ₹200-crore MAHA Water Mission to support StartUps (opens in a new tab)

Mega Science Vision 2035 for climate research

Prelims and Mains

Mega Science Vision 2035 for climate research is a community document, indicative rather than government policy, submitted to the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser.

The Mega Science Vision exercise, used for long horizon planning in nuclear and high energy physics, was extended for the first time to climate research, ecology and astronomy.

What changed

3 Jun 2026BriefThe report, with the Indian Institute of Science as nodal institution, warns that India has almost lost the ability to build scientific instruments and runs imported equipment uncalibrated for years, producing incorrect published data. It proposes an indigenous Earth System Model, a method to estimate the social cost of carbon, and studies of the long term effects of large solar and wind plants. Mains: The call for domestic instruments sits uneasily with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) procurement experience, partly rolled back in June 2025 after scientists found it blocked customised equipment. The Hindu, 3 Jun 2026: India losing ability to build its own instruments: climate science report (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 4 Jun 2026: Is climate research being held back by local instrumentation? | Explained (opens in a new tab)

TRL Compass

Prelims

TRL Compass adapts the global nine level Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale to India as a common national standard for projects seeking public funding.

It covers projects under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund.
It replaces subjective judgement with a documented assessment of technology, manufacturing, quality and programme readiness.
Many Indian innovations stall between laboratory and market because there is no shared way to judge how mature a technology is.

What changed

29 Jun 2026BriefThe Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) launched the platform on 29 June. Mains: India's scientific strength will be judged by its ability to turn research into deployable, commercially viable technology. PIB, 29 Jun 2026: Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser launches the TRL Compass Platform and Signs MoU with Data Security Council of India (DSCI) (opens in a new tab)

Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya

Prelims

Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravyas are Indian certified reference materials that give laboratories, industry and regulators measurement standards.

They improve accuracy and traceability and reduce reliance on imported standards.
The mandate of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) is to establish the country's measurement standards.

What changed

16 Jun 2026BriefTen reference materials were released. PIB, 16 Jun 2026: Seven CSIR Technologies Licensed to Industry; Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravyas Released and Quantum Sensing Components Delivered to DRDO (opens in a new tab)