Lok Sabha Question No. 3132 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: High-impact Research Areas
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Dr. K Sudhakar

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3132 ANSWERED ON 11/03/2026

## HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH AREAS

## 3132.  DR. K SUDHAKAR:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- the details of progress made after the first Governing Board meeting
- (a) of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF);
- (b) the  details  of  the  grants  awarded  and  high-impact  research  areas supported;
- (c) whether the Department has assessed innovation ecosystem boost and proposes additional missions; and
- (d)
- if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (b): Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the first meeting of the Governing Board of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) on 10 th  September, 2024. The meeting focussed on discussion about India's Science  and  Technology  landscape  and  redesigning  of  research  and development programmes. The board discussed several areas of strategic interventions of ANRF  which  include  India's international status in important sectors, aligning R&D  with national priorities, promoting inclusive growth, capacity building, driving scientific  advances  and innovation  ecosystem,  as  well  as  bridging  the  gap  between  academic research and industrial applications. The major programs initiated by ANRF since its inceptions are given below:-

-  Mission  for  Advancement  in  High-impact  Areas  (MAHA)  program  of ANRF addresses priority-driven, solution-focused research in missionmode  that  would  catalyse  multi-institutional,  multi-disciplinary  and multi-investigator collaboration to address scientific challenges and advance the frontiers of  technology  in  key  scientific  areas.  So  far, ANRF has identified and launched Electric Vehicle (EV) Mission, 2D Innovation Hub, MedTech Mission, AI for Science and Engineering and

- CRM Research Program as the priority areas of focus under MAHA program.
-  Several broad-based programs like Advanced Research Grant (ARG), Prime  Minister  Early  Career  Research  Grant  (PMECRG),  Inclusivity Research  Grant (IRG) launched by ANRF  to  providing financial assistance to researchers and scientists in academic institutions in order to create supportive environment for doing research in frontier areas of science and engineering all across the country.
-  Convergence  Research  Centres  of  Excellence  (CoE) to  establish "convergence"  research  Centres  of  Excellence  (CoEs)  launched  by ANRF to undertake cutting edge, innovative and impactful research at the  interface  of  Science,  Technology,  Humanities,  Social  Sciences and Society. These Centres will address complex societal challenges that require integrated perspectives from both technical and social sciences/humanities domains.
-  ANRF  launched  Centre  of  Excellence  for  Science,  Technology  and Innovation  Indicators  and  Analytics  (COE-STIIA)  with  the  aim  to strengthen the institutional mechanism for STI indicators with an endto-end system. The key objective is to enhance the quality, contextual relevance  and  applicability  of  India's  STI  indicators,  their  analysis, interpretations  and  dissemination  of  information  and  insights  at various  levels  of  policy  and  program  planning,  as  well  as  foster alignment  with  the  global  indicator  frameworks  to  position  India effectively in international indices.
-  ANRF  launched  PAIR  (Partnerships  for  Accelerated  Innovation  and Research) program which is designed to boost the research capability of those institutions including State Universities where research is at a  nascent stage but which have the potential to perform well, in a mentorship  mode  by  pairing  them  with  well-established  top-tier research institutions in a hub and spoke framework.
-  The ANRF Translational Research and Innovation (ATRI) initiative will bring together all key stakeholders to channelise the expertise and resources for unlocking the tremendous innovation potential. Under this initiative, ANRF will establish ATRI centres to provide targeted support  for  advancing  potential  technologies  from  TRL  4  to  TRL  7, thereby strengthening the innovation pipeline from lab to market.
-  ANRF has launched National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (NPDF) program to support young researchers after finishing Ph.D. which is effective to retain them in the country.  ANRF launched Ramanujan Fellowship to attract brilliant scientists and engineers of Indian origin working abroad to return and take up scientific research positions in India.

-  The ANRF has launched programs such as the National Science Chair, JC Bose  Grant and Prime Minister Professorship programs  to recognise eminent senior scientists for their outstanding contributions at both national and international levels. These initiatives also aim to leverage the expertise of scientists and faculty from reputed academic institutions, research laboratories and industry.

## The details of the grants awarded in high-impact areas are given below:

|   Sr. No. | Project Title                                                                                                                  | Institute Name                                                                                   |   Total Cost (₹ in Crore) |
|-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
|         1 | Development and Demonstration of Materials and Fabrication Technologies for Tropical Batteries                                 | International Advanced Research Centre For Powder Metallurgy And New Materials (Arci), Hyderabad |                     68.38 |
|         2 | Te-MobiX: Safe and Degradation-controlled Batteries with Efficient Charging for Tropical e-Mobility Excellence                 | Indian Institute Of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi                              |                     47.77 |
|         3 | Grid Readiness for EV: Enablers and Technological developments (GREET)                                                         | Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur                                                            |                     47.45 |
|         4 | Empowering Research in Indigenous Development of EV Sub-systems (E-RIDES)                                                      | Indian Institute Of Technology Bombay                                                            |                     56.56 |
|         5 | Development of high-power Grid-friendly Conductive and Static Wireless Chargers for Electric Vehicles                          | Indian Institute Of Technology Kharagpur                                                         |                     18.37 |
|         6 | Rare Earth Magnet-Free Axial Flux Synchronous, Radial Flux Switched Reluctance Motor and their Controllers for EV Applications | National Institute Of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal                                            |                      7.76 |
|         7 | Development of wide-bandgap semiconductors based highly efficient power electronics systems for Electric Vehicle               | Csir-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute(Csir-Ceeri), Pilani                      |                     18.41 |

(c) to (d): The Department has launched several mission-mode initiatives to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and promote high-impact research  in  emerging  technology  areas.  The  National  Quantum  Mission (NQM), approved by the Union Cabinet with an outlay of ₹6003.65 crore for a  period  of  eight  years,  aims  to  support  research  and  development  in quantum  computing,  quantum  communication,  quantum  sensing  and quantum materials.

Under the Mission, four Thematic Hubs have been established in September 2024:  Quantum  Computing  at  the  Indian  Institute  of  Science  (IISc), Bengaluru; Quantum Communication at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in association with C-DOT; Quantum Sensing & Metrology at IIT Bombay; and Quantum Materials & Devices at IIT Delhi. These Hubs are undertaking activities in technology development, human resource development, entrepreneurship development and industry collaboration, as well as international collaborations, to strengthen the quantum innovation ecosystem in the country.

The  National  Mission  on  Interdisciplinary  Cyber-Physical  Systems  (NMICPS) supports the development of Cyber-Physical Systems technologies through a network of Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) across academic institutions, focusing on areas such as AI, robotics, autonomous systems, smart manufacturing and advanced communication technologies.

In  addition,  the  Anusandhan  National  Research  Foundation  (ANRF)  has initiated  several  mission-mode  programmes, including Drones, Water, 6G and Leapfrog Demonstrators, to promote solution-oriented and translational research in priority technology areas.

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