Lok Sabha Question No. 4194 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: INSPIRE Scheme
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Karan Bhushan Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4194 ANSWERED ON 18/03/2026

## INSPIRE SCHEME

## 4194.  SHRI KARAN BHUSHAN SINGH:

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

- (a) the  details  of  funds  allocated,  released  and  utilized  under  the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scheme during the last five years, separately for awards,  internships, scholarships, fellowships and faculty programmes;
- (b) the  number  of  schools  registered  on  the  e-MIAS  (e-Management  of INSPIRE Awards Scheme) portal, State/UT-wise and particularly the number of Government schools registered in Uttar Pradesh;
- (c) the  number  of  Government  school  students  who  have  received INSPIRE-  Million  Minds  Augmenting  National  Aspirations  and  Knowledge (MANAK) awards across the country with specific details relating to Uttar Pradesh during the last five years;
- (d) the number of ideas or projects from students of Uttar Pradesh under the INSPIRE-MANAK scheme that have been recommended for patent filing, filed for patents and granted patents respectively; and
- (e) whether  any  steps  are  being  taken  to  increase  participation  of Government  schools, particularly in educationally backward  or rural districts, under the INSPIRE-MANAK scheme and if so, the details of such initiatives?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The  Innovation  in  Science  Pursuit  for  Inspired  Research  (INSPIRE) Scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is a national initiative aimed at attracting talented youth to study basic and natural sciences and pursue research careers in areas such as engineering, medicine, agriculture, and veterinary sciences, thereby strengthening the country's research and development base. The scheme

operates through multiple components across different educational stages. INSPIRE-MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge)  targets  students  aged  10-17  studying  in  Classes  VI-XII  by encouraging innovative ideas and scientific curiosity; schools can nominate up  to  five  students  annually  through  the  E-MIAS  portal,  and  selected students receive ₹10,000 through Direct Benefit Transfer to develop and present their projects at district, state, and national exhibitions. INSPIRE Internship provides five-day residential science camps for about 50,000 top 1%  students  at  the  Class  X  board  level,  allowing  them  to  interact  with leading  scientists  and  Nobel  Laureates  and  motivating  them  to  pursue science. Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) supports talented students aged 17-22 with 12,000 scholarships each year worth ₹80,000 per annum to pursue bachelor's and master's degrees in basic and natural sciences along with mentoring opportunities. At the research level, the INSPIRE Fellowship supports outstanding students pursuing PhD programs for up to five years with fellowships equivalent to CSIR-UGC NET (₹37,000 per month as JRF and ₹42,000 as SRF plus HRA and contingency grant of ₹20,000 per annum). Additionally,  the  INSPIRE  Faculty  Fellowship  offers  early-career  postdoctoral researchers aged 27-32 a five-year fellowship with ₹1,25,000 per month, annual increments, and a research grant of ₹35 lakh to establish independent  research  careers  in  basic  and  applied  sciences.  Together, these components create a continuous pipeline to nurture scientific talent from  school  level  to  advanced  research.  The  details  of  funds  allocated/ released/utilized  under  the  Innovation  in  Science  Pursuit  for  Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scheme during the last five years are given below:

| (Rs. in                    | (Rs. in   | (Rs. in   | (Rs. in   | (Rs. in   | (Rs. in                    |
|----------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|----------------------------|
| Program/Financial Year     | 2021-22   | 2022-23   | 2023-24   | 2024-25   | 2025-26 (As on 12.03.2026) |
|                            |           | 51.50     |           |           |                            |
| INSPIRE-MANAK              | 56.10     |           | 53.72     | 58.29     | 64.65                      |
| INSPIRE-Internship         | -         | -         | 0.34      | 1.75      | 0.78                       |
| INSPIRE-SHE                | 196.63    | 245.44    | 216.12    | 218.67    | 227.48                     |
| INSPIRE Fellowship         | 160.05    | 109.00    | 140.36    | 129.01    | 223.21                     |
| INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship | 86.57     | 47.44     | 47.17     | 35.31     | 76.06                      |

(b)  the  number  of  schools  registered  on  the  e-MIAS  (e-Management  of INSPIRE Awards Scheme) portal, State/UT-wise are given below:

| Sr. No. States/UTs                         |   Total no of school registered on E-MIAS |
|--------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| 1 Andaman and Nicobar                      |                                       247 |
| 2 Andhra Pradesh                           |                                     21343 |
| 3 Arunachal Pradesh                        |                                       251 |
| 4 Assam                                    |                                      6067 |
| 5 Bihar                                    |                                     45479 |
| 6 Chandigarh                               |                                       227 |
| 7 Chhattisgarh                             |                                     34692 |
| 8 Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |                                       367 |
| 9 Delhi                                    |                                      2914 |
| 10 Goa                                     |                                       573 |
| 11 Gujarat                                 |                                     35843 |
| 12 Haryana                                 |                                     12842 |
| 13 Himachal Pradesh                        |                                      7436 |
| 14 Jammu and Kashmir                       |                                     16797 |
| 15 Jharkhand                               |                                     32242 |
| 16 Karnataka                               |                                     78072 |
| 17 Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan            |                                      1237 |
| 18 Kerala                                  |                                      6712 |
| 19 Ladakh                                  |                                       500 |
| 20 Lakshadweep                             |                                        67 |
| 21 Madhya Pradesh                          |                                     71671 |
| 22 Maharashtra                             |                                     24682 |
| 23 Manipur                                 |                                       280 |
| 24 Meghalaya                               |                                      1641 |
| 25 Mizoram                                 |                                      2738 |
| 26 Nagaland                                |                                      1372 |
| 27 Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti               |                                       617 |
| 28 Odisha                                  |                                     43821 |
| 29 Puducherry                              |                                      3093 |
| 30 Punjab                                  |                                     22663 |
| 31 Rajasthan                               |                                     57418 |
| 32 Sikkim                                  |                                      3025 |
| 33 Tamil Nadu                              |                                     35801 |

| Sr. No.   | States/UTs      | Total no of school registered on E-MIAS   |
|-----------|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|
| 34        | Telangana 19720 |                                           |
| 35        | Tripura         | 5993                                      |
| 36        | Uttar Pradesh   | 88842                                     |
| 37        | Uttarakhand     | 7441                                      |
| 38        | West Bengal     | 3659                                      |
|           | Total           | 698385                                    |

Out of the total registered schools in Uttar Pradesh, 73,873 are Government schools.

- (c) During the last five years, a total of 1,82,430 students from Government schools across the country have received awards under the INSPIRE-Million  Minds  Augmenting  National  Aspirations  and  Knowledge (MANAK) scheme. Among these beneficiaries, 10,988 students belong to Government  schools  in  Uttar  Pradesh,  who  have  received  financial assistance under the scheme  for developing and showcasing  their innovative ideas and projects.
- (d) Under the INSPIRE-MANAK Scheme, 93 student ideas/projects from Uttar Pradesh have been supported with prototype development funding. Out of these innovations, 10 ideas/ projects have been recommended and filed for patent applications, and 3 of these patent applications have been successfully granted patents.
- (e) The  Department  has  undertaken  several  initiatives  to  enhance participation of Government schools, particularly in rural and educationally backward  districts,  under  the  INSPIRE-MANAK  scheme.  These  include organization  of  online  orientation  meetings  and  training  programmes  for teachers, District Nodal Officers and other stakeholders across districts. To further  strengthen  awareness  and  participation,  the  Department  has organized  orientation  workshops,  disseminated  audio-visual  promotional materials and brochures to schools, and operationalized a cloud-based web portal and mobile application for seamless nomination and evaluation. In addition, a structured mentoring and capacity-building ecosystem has been developed  wherein  State-level  awardees  receive  mentorship  at  premier institutions such as IITs, NITs, IISERs and Central Universities in collaboration with the National Innovation Foundation (NIF).

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