Researchers in Indian higher educational institutions allege facing inordinate delays in receiving grants from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) this year.
A statutory body introduced through the SERB Act of 2008 under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, SERB aims to promote research in science and engineering and provide funding to scientists, academic institutions and R&D Departments through grants.
However, in 2024, SERB was dissolved and replaced by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, established through the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act of 2023.
While the ANRF has been announcing new initiatives and grants for scientific research, SERB recipients have been left wondering when they will receive the second instalment of their grants this year.
Speaking to EdexLive on the condition of anonymity, a researcher and teaching faculty member from an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) says that while funding and grants were never regularly disbursed in the past, this year’s delays were much worse.
“When we approached the DST for an answer, we were told that the delay was because this was an election year,” the researcher says.
While it has been four months since the elections ended, SERB recipients have yet to receive their grants.
“Under my grant, I was supposed to receive Rs 6 lakh every year for five years. However, I only received one instalment so far,” the researcher says
According to the researcher, SERB issues grants of a certain amount to its applicants for a fixed period, which is released in timely instalments throughout the research project. The grant money must be spent within the period for which it was issued, and each head for spending must be accounted for.
“If the funding is delayed, it would be difficult to spend them, as they are classified under different heads for different projects,” the researcher reveals.
He adds, “I have only three months until my current project is completed. If the funds meant for this project are disbursed after the project is concluded, they would be purposeless.”
Impact on research
Such delays can set back research projects, which would impact research and development as a whole, says the researcher.
“Often, researchers need funds to procure material, equipment and other materials for experimentation. Delays in funding could prevent them from conducting scientific experiments on time, which could delay their research,” he explains.
The most alarming consequence of such delays, he says, is how it would impact Project Assistants in various research projects.
“Various grants by SERB also allow researchers to hire Project Assistants, who are usually PhD or Masters’ students. Their stipends come from these grants. However, many Project Assistants are left with no compensation for their efforts if the funds get delayed,” he says, adding that he has seen many Project Assistants leave research projects due to lack of funds.
For many researchers, stipends and grants are not only sources of funding for their research but also a source of income. “Such delays make research a difficult proposition in India,” the researcher laments.
Symptomatic of a larger issue?
In case of delays in funds, the educational institutions where researchers are employed usually provide financial assistance, the researcher says. However, this has become increasingly less possible, as educational institutions themselves are short of funds now.
“Ever since the mode of funding for government-run HEIs was changed from grants to loans, several educational institutions found paying back loans to the government to be a strain on their finances. As a result, they are not in a position to assist researchers financially,” the researcher says.
He claims that the delays in grant funds could also be because the Ministry of Finance has not allocated funds for these grant programmes.
“Maybe research is not a priority for the Finance Ministry… Or maybe there haven’t been enough funds allocated for education to be able to fund research,” the researcher wonders.
The researcher plans to get in touch with teachers, researchers, and faculty from other institutions and gauge the depth of the problem.
These delays come at a time when various research scholars in public educational institutions have been alleging irregularities in the disbursal of their scholarship and fellowship stipends.