The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) invites proposals for the Advanced Research Grant (ARG) program. This initiative aims to bolster Research and Development (R&D) across India by providing financial support to researchers in various institutions. The ARG program encourages innovative approaches and collaborations to advance knowledge in science and technology.

Introduction to the ARG Program

The Advanced Research Grant (ARG) program is a competitive initiative designed to provide financial assistance to researchers and scientists. Eligible applicants include those in academic institutions, National Research Laboratories, and other DSIR-SIRO recognized research organizations that can receive grants-in-aid from the Government of India (GoI). The program supports both high-impact fundamental or basic research (TRL 1-3) and use-inspired applied research (TRL 1 – 6) in frontier areas of science and technology.

This program is open to emerging, mid-career, and established researchers, offering funding opportunities for both individual and collaborative projects. Proposals should aim to develop innovative approaches that advance knowledge in their respective fields, with the potential for transformative impact. The ARG Program particularly encourages collaborative research involving multiple investigators across institutions or disciplines, as well as interdisciplinary research that bridges diverse fields to address complex scientific questions and pressing societal challenges.

The program supports curiosity-driven fundamental research and use-inspired applied research initiatives that explore bold, contemporary ideas. It seeks to foster collaborations among researchers, leading to high-impact interdisciplinary projects that tackle complex scientific and societal challenges. The goal is to encourage bold, innovative approaches that address contemporary and future challenges and opportunities at both the national and global levels.

Objectives and Scope

The ARG Program supports research and development in frontier areas of natural sciences, engineering & technology, environmental sciences, earth & atmospheric sciences, and scientific & technological interfaces of humanities & social sciences. It aims to harness the collective potential of the Indian R&D ecosystem and ensure the nation’s future preparedness, in line with the Viksit Bharat initiative of the Government of India.

The objectives include providing robust and timely research support to researchers in recognized institutions, supporting original, novel, and scientifically ambitious research, and promoting collaboration among researchers. It also aims to encourage collaboration between researchers in recognized institutions and industry partners, fostering innovative approaches to address contemporary and future challenges.

The program seeks to support original, novel, and scientifically ambitious research that has the potential to significantly advance knowledge and practice in its field. It also aims to promote collaboration among researchers, leading to high impact interdisciplinary projects to tackle complex scientific and societal challenges.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, the Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator(s) (Co-PI(s)) must be Indian citizens or foreign nationals (including OCI and PIO) employed in an eligible institution in India. Foreign nationals must have sufficient residual official service in India (project duration+1 year) and fulfill the eligibility criteria notified by ANRF.

Applicants must hold a regular academic, research, or Professor of Practice position in a recognized academic institution or National Research Laboratory or in any other recognized research organization in India. They must also hold a Ph.D. degree in Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering, Medicine, Social Sciences or a Master’s Degree in medicine, surgery, or dental sciences (M.D. / M.S. / M.D.S.) with two years research experience at the time of applying for grant.

The term "Regular" refers to applicants who are appointed against a sanctioned post or on a tenure-track post of an Institute/University, and are likely to be renewed after the end of the tenure. Faculty members recruited through INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship, Ramanujan Fellowship, and Ramalingaswamy Fellowship Programs are also eligible to apply.

• Private Academic institutions with valid UGC / AICTE / PCI approval are eligible to host a project.

• Private R&D Institutions with valid DSIR-SIRO recognition are eligible to host a project.

• Voluntary and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) registered under NITI-AAYOG Darpan portal are eligible to host a project.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on scientific quality and novelty, with an emphasis on breakthrough thinking and disruptive innovations. The potential for advancing the state-of-the-art in scientific or technological baselines (for fundamental/basic research) or economic baselines (for applied projects) is crucial. Significant advances will be prioritized over incremental advances.

Clarity of deliverables and outcomes is essential, with proposals expected to articulate clearly the deliverables and expected impact at the commencement and conclusion of the project. Feasibility and innovation in research methodology will also be considered. Interdisciplinary proposals should clearly bring out the integration of subject disciplines with a compelling rationale, as well as cohesiveness and complementary expertise in the team.

The content of the submitted proposal will be the primary source of evaluation. Evidence of relevant expertise in the proposed area and performance in past projects by the team of investigators may be considered as an additional source. Impact articulation is critically important for 4 and 5 year proposals (with concrete interim impact after 3 years), and larger budget collaborative proposals (exceeding ₹ 1 CR).

Nature and Duration of Support

The ARG Program offers funding for projects for a maximum period of five years. For projects beyond a three-year duration, funding is normally provided for an initial three years, with extensions considered in a phased manner (3+1 for 4 years and 3+1+1 for five years). Extended support is contingent upon demonstrated research progress, impact, and outcomes, in addition to publications and patents.

The research grant will be provided under two budget heads: Recurring (Research personnel, Consumables, Travel, Field Work Costs, Contingencies and other costs) and Non-Recurring (Equipment, Software Purchased, Long-term purchase of cloud or remote facility access). "Overheads" will also be provided to the host institution, over and above the total project cost, as per prevailing norms of ANRF.

National Research Laboratories (NRLs) and other recognized research organizations shall contribute 50% of the non-recurring cost only of the portion of the budget for their institutions. The upper limit for project funding under the ARG Program is ₹ 5 Crores for a maximum period of 5 years.

Application and Submission

For this particular ARG Program CFP (Call for Proposals), a researcher is eligible to apply for at most one proposal as a PI and at most one proposal as a Co-PI. The CFP for the ARG Program will be notified through the website "www.anrfonline.in". The research proposal should be submitted only through the website "www.anrfonline.in."

A compact pre-proposal (as per a prescribed format) needs to be submitted in addition to the full proposal (along with all requisite documents) by the deadline. Pre-proposals will be screened at level 1, and only the full proposals of the short-listed pre-proposals will be reviewed further. The shortlisted full proposals will be subjected to a rigorous assessment with the help of subject matter experts at level 2.

Selection for funding will solely be on the basis of scientific merit of the proposal and the evaluation criteria detailed out in section D. Larger value proposals (exceeding ₹1 CR) will undergo another round of evaluation at level 3. In larger collaborations or larger proposals, an even sharper focus will be placed on evaluating quality, impact, potential outcomes, and quality, coherence and integration of the collaboration team and interdisciplinary components.