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Recently, Union Education Minister mentioned the National Research Foundation as part of New Education Policy
Need for NRF?
- As per the NEP, funds allocated to research have declined from 0.84 per cent of GDP in 2008 to 0.69 per cent in 2014
- The new national education policy also acknowledges, research and innovation investment in India is, at the current time, only 0.69 per cent of GDP as compared to 2.8 per cent in the United States of America, 4.3 per cent in Israel and 4.2 per cent in South Korea
About the National Research Foundation
- It is being set up as an autonomous body under the New Education Policy
- The NRF aims to fund researchers working across streams in India.
- Considered to be one of the biggest announcements under NEP, it will look after funding, mentoring, and building ‘quality of research’ in India.
- With this, the funds available with all Ministries have been integrated in NRF and would be adequately supplemented with additional funds.
- In order to bring non-science disciplines of research in its ambit, NRF will fund research projects across four major disciplines –Sciences; Technology; Social Sciences; and Arts and Humanities.
- Lack of fund allocation has often been cited as one of the biggest reasons behind the lack of researchers in India and NRF aims to cater to the same.
- National Research Foundation (NRF) is a grand step which shall provide an extraordinary direction for consolidation and expansion of research, technology development and technology led innovation
- NRF will ensure that the overall research ecosystem in the country is strengthened with focus on identified thrust areas relevant to our national priorities and towards basic science without duplication of efforts and expenditure.
Source: The Indian Express and PIB
