New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill to set up a national agency to fund research across universities in the country.
Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh had introduced the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill-2023 on Friday in the Lower House.
The bill seeks to set up a Rs 50,000-crore fund, with a sizeable contribution from the private sector by tapping into the corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, to "seed, grow and promote" research and development (R&D) and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India's universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.
"PM Narendra Modi has provided an enabling milieu due to which over the last nine years, many taboos of the past were broken, space was opened up for the private sector that is why many startups are working with ISRO. It was our Chandrayan that brought pictures of water and today organisations like NASA are waiting for our findings for their research," Singh said.
The National Research Foundation (NRF) will be set up with a budget of about 50,000 crore for a period of five years, with Rs 10,000 crore from the government, Rs 4,000 crore from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Rs 26,000 crore from places like the private sector, from philanthropists or other aid.
The minister said with the formation of NRF, India will join other countries in having such an organisation and expressed hope that it will soon surpass them. —PTI
