NEW DELHI: Come October and the government will launch three schemes worth more than Rs 1,200 crore to boost India-specific research in social and pure sciences, complete with foreign collaborations and targeted measures to upgrade research infrastructure.The Prakash Javadekar-led human resource development ministry has got the go-ahead to launch the schemes titled STARS, SPARC and IMPRESS, which will be piloted and coordinated by Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, and Indian Council of Social Science & Research (ICSSR), respectively.The schemes will be opened to both government and private institutes to ensure a level playing field and healthy competition, sources told ET. The aim is as much to steer research to issues and concerns more relevant to India as to get it on the global high table of cutting edge research and knowledge ecosystems.The Rs 414-crore IMPRESS, to be coordinated by ICSSR, will encourage studies with outcomes that focus on solutions to socially relevant issues. About ten areas have been identified for this, including democracy, policy changes, growing media space, public health challenges, employment and rural transformation.As many as 1,500 projects with an average budget of Rs 25 lakh each will be funded under IMPRESS over the next two years. Each project will have a timeline of six months to two years. Rs 20 crore will be set aside for conducting 200 plus seminars and workshops.The Rs 418-crore SPARC, to be coordinated by IIT Kharagpur, seeks to boost joint research with global universities from 25 countries and get international expertise to solve major national problems, train Indian students in the best laboratories, and deepen academic engagement.All Indian institutions ranked in top 100 of National Institutional Ranking Framework will be eligible for this scheme that targets PhD and postdoctoral researchers. Foreign institutions in top 100 to top 200 of global academic rankings from the 25 target countries will be eligible.This Rs 400-crore scheme will focus on upcoming areas in fundamental sciences and develop research facilities in Universities to national and global standards. IISc Bangalore will coordinate the scheme to assess institutes on research facilities for ten domain areas of significance to India.