Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation, or ANRF, is India's top body for funding and guiding scientific research. It was created by a law of Parliament in 2023. Its job is to give research money to universities, colleges and labs across the country, and to get private companies to put more money into research. The Prime Minister heads its Governing Board, which shows how much importance the government gives it.

Why does it exist?

Before ANRF, research funding in India was split among many departments and schemes. Most grants went to a small number of elite institutes like the IITs and IISc. State universities, where most Indian students study, got very little. Industry also gave very little money to public research. ANRF was set up as one strong, central body that could fix these problems. You can think of it like one national "scholarship board" for research, instead of many small ones working separately.

Where did it come from?

• The idea of a National Research Foundation was recommended by the draft National Education Policy of 2019, prepared by a committee led by Dr K. Kasturirangan, and then adopted in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• The Union Cabinet approved the bill in June 2023.
• Parliament passed the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 in August 2023. It received the President's assent on 15 August 2023.
• The Act came into force on 1 December 2023.
• The Prime Minister chaired the first Governing Board meeting in September 2024.

What did it replace?

The Act repealed the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Act, 2008. SERB was a statutory body under the DST that gave grants for basic research. It was dissolved and merged into ANRF. So all of SERB's schemes and money now run through ANRF.

How is it run?

ANRF has two main levels of management:

• Governing Board: The Prime Minister is its ex-officio President. The Union Minister of Science and Technology and the Union Minister of Education are ex-officio Vice-Presidents. It also has senior officials and eminent researchers. It sets the overall direction.
• Executive Council: Chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India. It handles the day-to-day working of ANRF, approves programmes and oversees their use.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is the administrative department for ANRF. ANRF has a Chief Executive Officer (CEO); as of 2026, the CEO is Shivkumar Kalyanaraman.

How is it funded?

The planned total spending was ₹50,000 crore over five years (2023-28). Of this, only about ₹14,000 crore was to come from the government. About ₹36,000 crore (around 72%) was expected from non-government sources such as industry and philanthropists (rich individuals and trusts who donate money). The Act creates separate funds inside ANRF, including the ANRF Fund, an Innovation Fund, a Science and Engineering Research Fund (carrying over SERB's money) and special funds for specific projects [Unverified: exact list of funds under Section 16 of the Act].

What does ANRF do?

Its main roles are:

• Give competitive research grants in natural sciences, engineering, medicine, agriculture, and also in social sciences, arts and humanities.
• Build research capacity in state universities and colleges that have little research experience.
• Link researchers with industry, government departments and state governments.
• Fund large national missions in areas of high importance.

Key ANRF programmes

• PAIR (Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research): Uses a "hub and spoke" model. A top institute (the hub) mentors several less-experienced universities (the spokes) and does joint research with them.
• MAHA (Mission for Advancement in High-impact Areas): Big, multi-institution missions on frontier technologies. Examples are MAHA-EV (electric vehicle technologies), a MedTech mission, 2D material innovation hubs and AI for Science and Engineering.
• PMECRG (Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant): Supports young researchers at the start of their careers.
• RDI Fund: ANRF also hosts the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund, which gives low-cost loans for private-sector R&D.

Commonly confused concepts

• ANRF vs SERB: SERB (2008) funded mainly basic science research through DST. ANRF (2023) replaced SERB and has a much wider role: all fields of research, industry links and state universities.
• ANRF vs NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission: ANRF funds research. Atal Innovation Mission (2016) builds a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship through Atal Tinkering Labs and incubators.
• ANRF vs the US National Science Foundation (NSF): ANRF was partly modelled on the NSF, which funds research in American universities. But the NSF is not chaired by the head of government.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Dependence on private money: About 72% of the planned funds were to come from non-government sources. Critics say Indian industry has historically spent little on research, so this money may not arrive as planned.
• Government control: Some scientists worry that a board chaired by the Prime Minister and dominated by ministers and officials could reduce the independence of research funding. Supporters say high-level leadership helps cut delays and get attention.
• Small size of funds: Even ₹50,000 crore over five years is small compared with the total research needs of a country of India's size.
• Way forward: Experts suggest timely release of grants, peer review by scientists, a clear share for state universities, and simple rules for researchers.

Concepts to Know

• Statutory body: An organisation created by a law passed by Parliament or a state legislature. Its powers come from that law.
• Ex-officio: Holding a position because of another post. The Prime Minister is President of ANRF's Governing Board simply because they are Prime Minister.
• Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA): The top adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on science and technology matters.
• Philanthropy: Giving money to good causes, such as research or education, without expecting profit.
• Peer review: Checking a research proposal or paper by other experts in the same field before it is funded or published.