NRF Bill: Industry SPV to identify tech gaps, drive & fund R&D

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

The consortia will define the ‘problem’ or gap and fund research on the same at institutes, centres at institutes and groups of institutes, sources in the know said. Industry-academia collaboration and limited institutional level research spread are the key missing piece in India’s R&D ecosystem. The NRF hopes to address it through a multipronged strategy that will facilitate industry ownership of R&D initiatives and drive it down to the states. Critical to it is the funding plan that will be detailed in the Bill. The upcoming Bill proposes to set up NRF—an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country— at a total estimated cost of Rs 50,000 crore during five years (2023-28).

FCRA hinders educational collaboration with US: US-India task force

IIT Guwahati's Silver Jubilee batch receives degrees in 25th Convocation Ceremony

NCBS and NIMHANS launch Rohini Nilekani Centre for Brain and Mind

Of the Rs 50,000 cr outlay of five years announced for NRF, Rs 14,000 crore will be government backed. The Centre hopes to raise the remaining `36,000 cr from private sector. An SPV, consortia of Indian industry, is likely to be set up to take ownership of and drive the research agenda to meet specific technological/research gaps which are identified by the industry itself, ET gathers. “The idea is to let the industry itself take full ownership and drive R&D in problem areas and gaps by funding it in institutes...”, a person in the know told ET. Since decentralisation and expansion of R&D -beyond the 150 odd IITs, IISERs, IISc- is also an ambition under NRF, the Centre will roll out a three