Lok Sabha Question No. 1282 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Enrolment of Ph.D. Programmes
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Gaddam Ranjith Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1282 ANSWERED ON-11/12/2023

## Enrolment of Ph.D. Programmes

## 1282.  DR. G. RANJITH REDDY:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is true that enrolment of Ph.D. programmes at IITs has come down;
- (b) if  so,  the  reasons  behind  this  downward  trajectory  among  best  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) colleges in the country;
- (c) the  number  of  Ph.D.  applications  in  IISc  during  the  last  five  years  and  the current year, year-wise;
- (d) the  reasons  that  students  are  not  registering  for  Ph.D.  programmes  in  the above premier Institutions in spite of having record faculty strength and huge research funds; and
- (e) the efforts being made by the Government to reverse this trend?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (e):  The  enrolment  in  PhD  programme  is  a  dynamic  phenomenon,  which depends  on  multiple  factors  such  as  availability  of  jobs  in  Government/  PSU  and private sector, start-up opportunities, avenues of higher studies etc. The Government has taken various steps to further increase the Ph.D. enrolment.

Under the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship scheme, attractive fellowship is  offered  to  attract  the  best  talent  into  research  thereby  realizing  the  vision  of development  through  innovation  and  approximately  3000  students  have  been selected since 2018 to pursue their Ph. D. in premier Indian Universities/ Institutions. Under the scheme, selected scholars are provided with attractive rates of monthly fellowship  @  Rs.70,000/-  for  the  first  two  years,  Rs.75,000/-  for  the  3rd  year,  and Rs.80,000/- in the 4th and 5th years. A research grant of Rs.2.00 lakh per year for a period of 5 years to each fellow to meet the cost of presenting research papers is also given. Further, the Government has also revised the emoluments for research personnel engaged in R&D programmes funded by the Ministry of Education from Rs. 31,000 per month to Rs. 37,000 per month for Junior Research Fellows (JRF) and  Rs.  35,000  per  month  to  Rs.  42,000  per  month  for  Senior  Research  Fellows (SRF) with effect from 1 st  January, 2023.

These efforts are supplemented by funding from Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Electronics and Information  Technology,  Council  of  Scientific  and  Industrial  Research,  etc.  for nurturing  and  developing  research  in  scientific  areas  and  thereby  supporting research in critical areas.

As envisaged in National Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020,  'Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act,2023' was notified to establish the Anusandhan National Research Foundation. Anusandhan National Research Foundation, an apex body  has  been  envisaged  to  provide  high-level  strategic  direction  for  research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of natural sciences including mathematical  sciences, engineering  and  technology,  environmental and  earth sciences, health and agriculture. It also seeks to promote scientific and technological interfaces  of  humanities  and  social  sciences.  Total  estimated  cost  of  NRF  for  five years (2023-28) is Rs. 50,000 crores.

As  per  Research  and  Development  (R&D)  Statistics  at  a  Glance  2022-23,  India occupies  3 rd rank  in  terms  of  the  number  of  PhDs  awarded  in  Science  and  Engineering (S&E). Further, as per Elsevier Report, the total number of publications has also increased from 661,912 from (2012-2016) to 1,012,624 in (2017-2021).

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