Lok Sabha Question No. 3586 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-08
Subject: SPARC and IMPRESS
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Balak Nath

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-3586 ANSWERED ON 08/08/2022

## SPARC and IMPRESS

## †3586. SHRI BALAK NATH :

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  Whether  the  Scheme  for  Promotion  of  Academic  and  Research  Collaboration (SPARC) and Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS) have been successful to promote research in higher education;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c)  the  details  of  areas  where  the  students  are  being  under  the  said  Schemes  in Rajasthan, District-wise?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) and (b): Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) was launched in 2018 with an aim to improve the research ecosystem of India's Higher Educational Institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions  and  the best  institutions  in  the  world  from  28  selected  nations  by supporting joint research collaborations. In the first phase of SPARC, 394 proposals have been approved amounting to ₹251.09 Crores.

Based on the progress reports submitted by the principal investigators (PIs) of SPARC, 334 foreign faculty members visited India to conduct Courses, Training Programmes, or Workshop, and 78 Indian faculty members visited abroad for the same purposes. 133 Indian  students  visited  abroad and  32 foreign  students  visited  India.  209  workshops have been organized; around 24,000 students and scholars attended those workshops. 67 monographs have been published. Around 451 tangible outcomes were reported in forms of 266 journal publications and 185 publications in conference proceedings. 8 patents have been filed.

The Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS) scheme was launched in October 2018. Under this scheme, 739 projects were awarded, of which, 708 projects were  undertaken.  Of  these  projects,  626  publications  have  been  received  so  far  in national and international journals. The scheme received good response from all parts of the country and applications under 11 domain areas of IMPRESS were received from 33 states/Union Territories. The scheme has attracted the attention of social science scholars and gave them an opportunity to conduct focussed research on policy issues.

- (c):  Under  SPARC,  12  projects  have  been  approved  from  Institutions  situated  in Rajasthan. Their details are as follows:

| Institute                                       | District   |   Awarded Projects |
|-------------------------------------------------|------------|--------------------|
| Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani | Jhunjhunu  |                  5 |
| Indian Institute of Management Udaipur          | Udaipur    |                  3 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur          | Jodhpur    |                  1 |
| Malaviya National Institute of Technology       | Jaipur     |                  3 |

Under IMPRESS, 21 projects have been approved from Rajasthan. Their details are as follows:

| District   |   Awarded Projects |
|------------|--------------------|
| Jaipur     |                  9 |
| Jhunjhunu  |                  9 |
| Ajmer      |                  1 |
| Udaipur    |                  1 |
| Alwar      |                  1 |

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