In a significant step aimed at encouraging the best talent to take up research, the government is mulling a “Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship” for students passing out of IITs.

According to top officials in the HRD Ministry, the quality of research is directly related to the quality of people who undertake it which is why it is important that the best minds are encouraged to take it.

“A committee headed by former IIT Mumbai Director and eminent scientist Anil Kakodkar too had recommended that third year students of IITs and NITs should be initiated into PhD programmes,” a senior functionary said.

There is a strong realisation in the government that innovation is necessary to increase productivity and raise overall standards of our country, and quality research is needed for innovation, sources said.

Keeping this in mind, the HRD Ministry is considering launching a ‘PM Research Fellowship’ for around 1,000 students from the next academic year.

Sources said the IIT Council, which is the top decision making body for these premier technological institutes, will meet on the August 23 and is likely to discuss these fellowships and the modalities for instituting it.

It is envisaged that under this programme, B Tech students in the IITs will register for PhD immediately on completion of the undergraduate course.

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It has been suggested that B Tech fourth year course students shall be eligible for fellowships. The students would write the outline of the research project they wish to undertake and these would be evaluated by committees formed by IIT Board, sources said. “The idea is to make research attractive to the fresh IIT passouts so that they can focus their energies on pathbreaking research which can throw up solutions and strengthen the academic environment in the long run,” an official said.

Sources also said since research is a key criterion in ranking educational institutes globally, the proposed step may benefit those in India in this respect as well.

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