Lok Sabha Question No. 368 (STARRED), answered on 2019-12-13
Subject: Women in Scientific Research
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Ravi Kishan Shukla, Chandra Prakash Joshi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No.368

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13/12/2019

## WOMEN IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

- †*368. SHRI RAVI KISHAN: SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY वान और ौयोगक मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  any  task  force  has  been  constituted  for  the  promotion  of  women  talent  in scientific research;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the status thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has accepted the reports submitted by the said task force for the purpose;
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the action taken by the Government thereon;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to include more women talent in scientific research in the country; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof along with the action taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE; MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; AND MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

वाय और परवार कयाण मंी ; वान और ौयोगक मंी ; और पृ वी वान मंी

डॉ. हष वधन

- (a) to (f): A statement is laid on the Table of House.

## STATEMENT AS REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.368 FOR 13/12/2019 REGARDING WOMEN IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

- (a) Yes Sir.

(b) The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has constituted 'National Task Force for  Women in Science' in the year 2005 to  recommend appropriate measures to promote and encourage  women  to  take  up  scientific  and  technological  professions.  The  Task  Force  had members representing different disciplines of science, institutions and regions of the country. The first meeting of the Task Force was held in 2006 wherein it was decided to interact with and get inputs  from  a  wide  spectrum  of  women  scientists  and  students  from  various  locations  in  the country. Ten meetings of the Task Force were conducted to get inputs on the difficulties faced by women while entering and pursuing a science career.

(c)  &  (d):    Yes,  the  Task  Force  has  submitted  its  report  in  the  year  2011.  The  major recommendations  of  the  Task  Force  were  i)  Fostering  and  supporting  women  resources  in Science  and  Technology  (S&T),  ii)  Measures  to  attract  girls  into  science  career  and,  iii)  New policies,  rules  and  initiatives.  The  Task  Force  also  recommended  constitution  of  a  Standing Committee under the Ministry of Science & Technology to take proactive measures to correct any  imbalances  that  still  persisted  and  hindered  women  in  science.  In  2016,  the  DST  has constituted  'Standing  Committee  for  Promoting  Women  in  Science'  to  recommend  special measures  to  ensure  growth  of  women  in  science  and  to  design  programmes  specifically  for fostering, utilizing and supporting women in science and thus reduce the gender gap.

In line with recommendations made by the Task Foce and the Standing Committee, the Department of Science and Technology has initiated an umbrella scheme KIRAN (Knowledge Involvement  in  Research  Advancement  through  Nurturing)  to  support  women  scientists  and technologists in S&T through various programmes namely, Women Scientists Scheme, Indo-US Fellowship for Women, Mobility Scheme and so on. These programmes address challenges like break in career, unemployment, relocation, etc. faced by women in the realm of scientific career and encourage them to sustain their career. In line with other recommendation of Task Force to attract  girls  into  science  career,  the  Women  Scientists  Scheme  (WOS)  of  DST  provides  career opportunity to girls. In addition to WOS, a new scheme 'Vigyan Jyoti' has started in the year 2019 to motivate and empower girls to take up Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) subjects  in the higher education especially in underrepresented areas of  S&T for girls in  the  top  ranking  institutions.  Furthermore,  DST has  also  started  a  new  initiative  for  gender advancement  in S&T  Institutions in 2019-20 to make  institutional reforms for gender advancement - in response to the third recommendation of the Task Force. This will assess and rank institutions' performance in the area of gender  advancement  and quantify their commitments towards gender parity. This will also encourage institutions to take proactive and corrective measures to promote more women into scientific research.

(e) & (f):  1. Yes. There are numerous schemes which aim to attract and support women talent in scientific research in the country. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), through its 'Women Scientist Scheme (WOS)' provides career opportunities to unemployed women scientists and technologists, especially those who had a break in career, for pursuing research in frontier areas of Science and Engineering. There are three major components of WOS, namely, i) Women Scientists Scheme-A (WOS-A) for conducting research in Basic & Applied Sciences, ii) Women Scientists  Scheme-B  (WOS-B)  for  research  projects  that  entail  S&T  interventions  for  Societal Benefit and iii) Women Scientists Scheme-C (WOS-C) that enables them to become Intellectual Property  Rights  (IPR)  professional  after  one  year  of  training  with  fellowship.  Around  2200 women scientists  have  been  supported  under  the  three  components  of  WOS  in  last  five  years including the current year. Additionally, the DST is also providing R&D infrastructure support to  women  universities  through  'Consolidation  of  University  Research  through  Innovation  and Excellence  in  Women  Universities  (CURIE)'  Programme,  which  has  enhanced  women's participation in R&D activities in these universities.

2. In  2016,  DST  launched  'Mobility  Scheme'  to  support  women  scientists  working  in government  institutions  and  desire  to  relocate  to  different  location  due  to  personal  or  family reasons. The scheme provides them upto 5 years project grant at the new institution of her choice to sustain career. To provide international exposure to women scientists, DST started 'Indo-US Fellowship  for  Women  in  STEMM  (WISTEMM)'  in  2017.  Forty  (40)  women  scientists  have received fellowship under WISTEMM in two batches.  Further, DST has started 'Vigyan Jyoti' Scheme in 50 districts of the country for girl students of Class XI during 2019-20. The scheme is implemented through Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti with active support of institutions of national importance like IITs, IISERs, National Labs, Universities, etc. as the Knowledge Partners (KPs).

3. The  DST  has  also  started  a  new  initiative  in  area  of  gender  advancement  in  S  &  T institutions  in  2019-20  to  introduce  a  gender  equality  framework  that  will  assess,  rate  and motivate S&T institutions to undertake actions to improve gender parity. Furthermore,  KIRAN Scheme also has a capacity building programs under 'National Program for Training of Women Scientists & Technologists working in Government Sector' to provide short term training in the fields of R&D, entrepreneurship, managerial skills and leadership. During the last five years 962 women scientists have received training under the programme.

4. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is also implementing since 2010 a programme called  'Biotechnology  Career  Advancement  and  Re-orientation  Programme  (BioCARe)'  to enhance  the  participation  of  Women  Scientists  in  Biotechnology  research.  This  programme  is mainly for career development of employed/unemployed women scientists for whom it is the first extramural research grant. Since the inception, 339 women scientists have been supported under this programme. The DBT has 'National Women Bioscientist Award' to recognize outstanding research  contributions  of  women  scientists  below  45  years  of  age.  Sixty  three  (63)  women scientists have received this Award.  The Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) under the  DST  has  launched  'SERB  Women  Excellence  Award'  to  reward  young  women  scientists (below  age  40)  who  have  excelled  in  science  and  have  received  recognition  from  any  of  the National Science Academies in India. Since the inception, 57 women scientists have received this Award. The DST has instituted an award 'National Award for Women's Development through Applications  of Science  &  Technology'  to  recognize  the contributions of individuals or institutions,  working  at  the  grass  root  level  for  women's  development  through  application  of Science  &  Technology.    Further,  the  Ministry  of  Human  Resource  Development  (MHRD)  has created supernumerary seats for girls in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to ensure 14% participation of girls. This new initiative will include more women talent in S&T and reduce the existing gender gap.

********