Increase research funding, build proper research infrastructure: ABVP in letter to Minister Harsh Vardhan

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, submitted a letter to the Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan with suggestions from students on the proposed National Science and Technology Policy (STIP). The ABVP said that they have come up with the set of suggestions that address the issues faced by students in the field of science and technology only after extensive discussion with the student community.

The ABVP demanded that a proper and robust mechanism should be developed to ensure the access to research infrastructure to researchers from different educational organisations of the country. While the ABVP welcomed the proposed One Nation-One Subscription Policy which has provisions for giving the access of the research publication to every citizen of India, they said that more clarity is required about how authors will be able to submit their internationally published research works until the copyright issue is resolved. "There is a need to regulate journals publishing sub-standard research papers, and promote Indian scientists and research scholars to publish their significant portion of their critical research work in indigenous publishing groups and to further enhance impact factor thereof," said the letter.

The student organisation demanded that funds allotted to universities to "rejuvenate their academic and research infrastructure" be substantially increased. "This will help in tackling large disparity in allocation of resources to state universities as compared to the central universities, institutes of national importance and more so to the centrally funded research institutes," read the letter adding that innovation should be promoted and skill development should be made an integral part of school and college education.

"The process of national reconstruction can be expedited through stronger cooperation between society and science. ABVP has constantly put forth suggestions through various mediums to the central and various state governments to promote research and innovation in the field of education. We hope that the suggestions shared with the government after a wide-ranging dialogue on the proposed STIP will be applied in the policy to come." said Nidhi Tripathi, National General Secretary, ABVP.

In addition to these, the ABVP also suggested that the budgetary allocation for developing the research infrastructure, mandatory development of research and innovation culture in the field of primary and secondary education should be increased, the students with interest in research from the early days of their career should be given the right opportunities. "Cooperation between research and technology institutions, development of high quality international standard research institutions at universities and provision for knowledge transfer between research institutes should be emphasised," said the ABVP.