ANRF Emerges as India's Research Powerhouse—How It's Transforming Innovation

Conducting a comprehensive review of the ANRF at Technology Bhawan in the national capital, Singh stressed promoting a culture of co-funding through engagement of the non-government sector and a change of mindset accordingly.

“ANRF is emerging as a pivotal institution for India’s rise as a global research and innovation powerhouse,” Singh said.

The Minister called for accelerating mission-mode research, expanding co-funding partnerships with industry, and simplifying processes to give researchers greater operational flexibility.

He underlined that India is steadily transitioning towards a whole-of-government and whole-of-society R&D model, where ministries, industry, startups, philanthropic foundations, and academia jointly shape the national innovation landscape.

Stressing the need for a common mechanism enabling cross-ministerial scientific initiatives rather than isolated schemes, Singh instructed officials to fast-track collaboration with the Health Ministry to ensure rapid progress in indigenous medical technologies such as e-health and hydrogen mobility, deep-tech missions.

During the meeting, ANRF CEO Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman presented a detailed overview of the foundation’s progress and mission pipeline.

"ANRF’s operational architecture is now fully functional, covering foundational research, mission-mode programmes, industry-academic partnerships, and the RDI Fund, which provides patient capital and private co-funding for translation, validation, and scale-up,” Kalyanaraman said.

He explained that mission-mode programmes in priority areas such as electric mobility, MedTech, advanced materials, and hydrogen are progressing rapidly.

The CEO highlighted how the PAIR initiative, launched in November 2024, has begun uplifting university research capacities across the country by linking them with leading institutions such as IISc, IITs, NITs, and Central Universities.

“More than 40 institutions have already joined PAIR Category-A networks, resulting in higher-quality proposals, stronger mentorship, and improved research productivity,” Kalyanaraman said.

In addition, “the Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant has already supported 718 young researchers with progressive, research-friendly norms,” he said.

- IANS