The Parliament passed the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) Bill 2023 to establish a national agency to fund research across universities in the country. The bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday before it had got the Lok Sabha's nod on August 7. It was passed by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha in just 40 minutes after being taken up for consideration and passage. As the Opposition had earlier stormed out of the House, only six members took part in the debate.
In response to the debate over the bill's consideration and passage, Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh called it "historic" and stated that it is going to have long-term outcomes. He said that since India’s future economic growth will be Science & Technology driven, ANRF will prepare India for a global role as India takes the lead in addressing global challenges as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also said that this is going to be a historic step as this would lead to rationalisation and democratization of human resources and research funding.
Key features of Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023
- The bill will establish the National Research Foundation (NRF), an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country according to recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP). The total estimated cost for this is Rs 50,000 crore during five years (2023-28).
- The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be the administrative Department of NRF which will be governed by a Governing Board consisting of eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines.
- The Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the Board and the Union Minister of Science & Technology & Union Minister of Education will be the ex-officio Vice-Presidents.
- The NRF’s functioning will be governed by an Executive Council chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
- NRF will forge collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions
- NRF will focus on creating a policy framework and putting in place regulatory processes that can encourage collaboration and increased spending by the industry on Research and Development
- The bill will also repeal the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) established by an act of Parliament in 2008 and subsume it into NRF
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