Lok Sabha Question No. 2672 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-11
Subject: Establishment of Advance Research Laboratories
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Daggumalla Prasada Rao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2672 ANSWERED ON 11/12/2024

## ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVANCE RESEARCH LABORATORIES

2672.   Shri Daggumalla Prasada Rao:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of advance research laboratories established in academic institutions;
- (b)
- the details thereof, State-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has any data regarding the physical progress and financial allocations made and utilized for the establishment of advance research laboratories in academic institutions;
- (d) if so, the details thereof, State-wise especially in the state of Andhra
- Pradesh;
- (e) the  details  of  the  metrics  involved  and  process  used  for  selecting institutions where advance research laboratories are to be established under the said scheme;
- (f) the details of the progress of international, bilateral and multilateral cooperation made and the countries working and interested in collaborative research in sustainable energy, water, etc.; and
- (g) the details of the outcome of the scheme in building institutional and human capacity and progress made in innovation technology development and deployment?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी तथा पृ थ्िी विज्ञान मंत्रालय क े राज्य मंत्री ( स्ितंत्र प्रभार) ( डॉ. जितेंद्र स ंह )

(a) to (b): Four  national-level  Sophisticated  Analytical  &  Technical  Help Institute (SATHI) centres and fifteen regional Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facilities (SAIF) centers equipped with major analytical instruments  have  been  established.  The  four  SATHI  centers  are  at  Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (Delhi), Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (West Bengal), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (Telangana), while over the years 15 SAIF centers were also established at various States (Annexure).

(c) to (d): Yes, in terms of physical progress, both SAIF and SATHI centers annually  analyse  approximately  1,00,000  samples,  serving  around  32,000 users, and contributing to approximately 2,200 research publications.

|              | Financial allocations/Utilsation Amount in ((₹) Crore)   | Financial allocations/Utilsation Amount in ((₹) Crore)   | Financial allocations/Utilsation Amount in ((₹) Crore)   |
|--------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| Schemes      | 2021-2022                                                | 2022-2023                                                | 2023-2024                                                |
| SATHI & SAIF | 46.7                                                     | 37.62                                                    | 34.09                                                    |

No such facility is established so far, in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

(e) Under SATHI scheme, institutions are selected on cluster mode based on metrics such as academic and research profile, Institute of Eminence status, rank according to National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), quality of research publications, the breadth of Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) disciplines, willingness of lead organisation and its co-opted partners (minimum  5  partners)  from  nearby  organizations  to  collaborate,  technical expertise,  readiness  to  form  Section-8  company,  availability  of  dedicated space  under  one  roof,  the  presence  of  supportive  infrastructure,  prior experience  in  managing  shared  equipment,  well-structured  plans  for  skill development and capacity building, and a minimum 25% funding contribution towards DST's recommended cost slab. Only ongoing support is provided for strengthening research facilities at SAIF centres and no new calls has been announced to establish new SAIF centres.

(f) DST  has supported numerous  R&D  projects under bilateral  S&T cooperation with many countries including Australia, Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic,  Denmark,  Germany,  Finland,  France,  Israel,  Italy,  Japan,  South Korea,  Netherlands,  Romania,  Russia,  Serbia,  Slovenia,  Sri  Lanka,  Sweden, Taiwan,  UK,  USA  and  African  countries.  Under  multilateral  international cooperation DST is involved with The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), European Union (EU)  etc  in  the  area  of  sustainable  energy,  water  etc.  Some  of  the  salient highlights of these collaborations are focused on adoption of clean technologies,  water  management,  real-time  water  quality  monitoring  and water treatment technologies etc.

(g) The  scheme  in  building  institutional  and  human  capacity,  has  made significant paces in advancing scientific research, technological innovation, and human capacity building, by strengthening research facilities of various academic institutions and nurtured young talent. During last financial year, Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research -Million Minds Augmenting National  Aspiration  and  Knowledge  (INSPIRE-MANAK)  program  empowered young minds by recognizing  over 46,000 innovative ideas submitted by them,

with  a  significant  female  participation.  Additionally,  through  programs  like INSPIRE Faculty and INSPIRE-Scholarship for Higher Education (INSPIRE-SHE), DST  has  supported  more  than  11500  fellowship  to  encouraged  research excellence on annual basis.

DST  provides  assistance  to  the  educational  institutions  to  promote innovation in science and technology under National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI). Support is provided for establishment of startup incubation centers in academic institutions across the country. These centers  help  in  augmenting  the  institutional  capacity  of  the  educational institutes for supporting innovation and translation of research to startup. Over the years, DST has established around 180 incubators across the country in various  educational  and  research  institutes  supporting  startups  in  different technology domains. In order to strengthen Human Capacity in entrepreneurship and innovation, DST provides fellowship to students through NIDHI Entrepreneur in residence program. Over the last 3 years, a total 931 students have been supported through the NIDHI Entrepreneur in residence fellowship. Climate Energy and Sustainable Technology program has supported over 290 projects on water technology and clean energy.

By nurturing young talent, supporting startups, and promoting technological  advancements,  DST  is  contributing  to  India's  growth  and development as a global leader in science and technology.

## Annexure

## Name of the institutes and State where Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facilities (SAIF) have been established: -

|   S.No | Institution Name                                                                                                      | State         |
|--------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|
|      1 | Indian Institute of Technology -Madras, Chennai                                                                       | Tamil Nadu    |
|      2 | Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow                                                                              | Uttar Pradesh |
|      3 | Indian Institute of Technology -Bombay, Mumbai                                                                        | Maharashtra   |
|      4 | Shivaji University, Kolhapur                                                                                          | Maharashtra   |
|      5 | Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore                                                                                | Karnataka     |
|      6 | Karnatak University, Dharwad                                                                                          | Karnataka     |
|      7 | Panjab University, Chandigarh                                                                                         | Chandigarh    |
|      8 | All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi                                                                    | Delhi         |
|      9 | North Eastern Hill University, Shillong                                                                               | Meghalaya     |
|     10 | Gauhati University, Guwahati                                                                                          | Assam         |
|     11 | Sophisticated Instrumentation Centre for Applied Research & Testing, Charutar Vidya Mandal, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand | Gujarat       |
|     12 | Sophisticated Test and Instrumentation Centre, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi             | Kerala        |
|     13 | Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam                                                                                   | Kerala        |
|     14 | Indian Institute of Technology-Patna                                                                                  | Bihar         |
|     15 | Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur                                                       | West Bengal   |

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