The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) introduces the Prime Minister Professorship, a prestigious initiative aimed at fostering world-class research and innovation within emerging institutions. This program seeks to leverage the expertise of distinguished scientists, senior faculty, and accomplished industry professionals to provide mentorship and support to faculty and students in less-endowed state universities.

Objective and Focus

The primary objective is to strengthen the Research and Development (R&D) culture in less-endowed state universities. This will be achieved by leveraging the expertise of active, eminent, and superannuated/retired scientists with outstanding contributions in engineering, science, and technology, including agriculture, medicine, and social sciences at the interface of science and technology. The focus is on boosting their research and innovation aspects through collaborative efforts.

The program aims to enhance the research and innovation capabilities of target host universities. It also seeks to promote sustainable knowledge exchange between established institutions, industry, and less-endowed universities through internships for research scholars.

The PM Professors are expected to mentor faculty and students in pursuing world-class research in frontier areas of national interest, including translational research. They should also strengthen research and innovation collaborations among established institutions and industry with less endowed universities.

Eligibility Criteria

The scheme is open to a diverse range of candidates with strong research backgrounds. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to mentoring faculty at eligible state universities where research and innovation are still at a nascent stage.

• Superannuated faculty or scientists from reputed Indian institutions, research laboratories, or private institutions are eligible.

• Overseas scientists—including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs)—are encouraged to apply.

• Professionals from industry/ experienced Professor of Practice, with a distinguished record of research and innovation, may also apply.

Eligible host institutions are the state universities qualified as spoke institutions in Category A of the recently awarded PAIR program of ANRF. Applicants must be willing to relocate to the proposed host institution on a full-time basis.

Responsibilities of the Prime Minister Professor

The Prime Minister Professor will play a crucial role in enhancing the research ecosystem of the host university. They will be responsible for mentoring faculty and students, fostering collaborations, and promoting knowledge exchange.

A key responsibility is to mentor faculty and students for pursuing world-class research in areas of national interest, including translational research. Strengthening research and innovation collaborations among established institutions, industry, and less-endowed universities is also expected.

The PM Professor may also contribute to establishing a research lab in a specific department or a common research facility, subject to the approval of the head of the institution. The mentor has to collaborate with the head of university/ various departments willing to participate and work out the plan for raising the R&D ecosystem of the host university.

Proposal Submission and Evaluation

A joint proposal must be submitted by the applicant in collaboration with various departments from the proposed host university. The proposal should clearly articulate the mentor’s role in the proposed activity of research and innovation.

The proposal should detail how the mentor will contribute to the formulation of research projects in collaboration with the host university. It should also outline innovative strategies to enhance the quality of research and innovation at the university.

Proposals will be evaluated based on the academic and professional credentials of the applicants, as well as the potential merit, novelty, and innovativeness of the approach to raising the target institution’s research ecosystem to globally competitive standards. Performance of the faculty in the proposed departments during the last 5 years will also be evaluated.

Funding and Duration

The tenure of the PM Professorship will be up to 5 years, based on performance evaluated by an expert committee. There is no upper age limit, but applicants must be superannuated on the date of application.

A PM Professor will receive a fellowship of Rs. 30 lakh plus Rs. 24 lakh as research grant (consumables, domestic travel, contingencies, equipment etc.) per annum. Also, an overhead of a fixed amount of Rs.1 lakh per year will be provided to the host institution.

The applicant should not hold any administrative roles and functions. They should also not receive any honorarium/fellowship/salary from any other institute or organization during the tenure of the PM Professorship.