Core Research Grant (CRG)

Core Research Grant (CRG) is sponsored by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST). This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

Home: Anusandhan National Research Foundation, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India Funding > Research Grants Core Research Grant (CRG) Frequently Asked Questions Q1: I want to apply for a Core Research Grant scheme for the first time. What is the maximum amount of the grant the Board will fund? There is no upper limit (or even lower limit) for a project grant.

The budget is decided based on the requirement for its successful implementation. The Investigator should propose a budget which is realistic taking into account the infrastructure and resources available at the implementing institutions. Q2: Does the Board has any priority areas for funding under CRG scheme?

No. The Board funds all the areas of Science and Engineering without discriminating between disciplines. The proposal will be funded if it has novelty and the investigator has the competence to execute the project. Q3: I am currently executing a CRG project in the area of Chemical Sciences.

I want to apply for an another CRG project in Physical Sciences. Will I be funded another project? No. The Board funds only one project to an Investigator at a time, except in cases where calls for proposals are invited for specific areas/schemes/programs.

Q4: Are Co-Investigators allowed in CRG grant? If they are from different institutions, can the budget be provided separately to both the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator(s)? Yes.

Co-Investigator(s) are allowed in CRG grant, provided the proposed work requires complementary expertise for its implementation. Separate budget can also be provided to the Co-Investigator (s) only if they belong to different institutions. Q5: Does SERB discriminate Project Investigators working in Private Universities/Institutions in funding?

No. Funding decisions are made based on merit of the proposal, competence of the Investigator(s), and the infrastructure available in the implementing institution, and not on the category of institutions the Investigator is working. Q6: After project sanctioning whether PI will be allowed to change the host institution? Yes.

SERB prior approval is required for the transfer of project before the expiration date of the approved project period (duration period should be at least 1 year). Project transfer should be intimated to SERB well in advance at least two months prior to the date of transfer. Q7: Whether the project can be extended beyond the sanctioned duration?

SERB strongly encourages investigators to complete their projects within the sanctioned duration. Due to unforeseen the study could not be executed within the sanctioned period SERB consider the No-Cost Extension. However, PI needs to make a no-cost extension request in the SERB online portal three months before the project completion period.

Kindly note that No-cost extension is subject to approval of budget availability in the grant and the work progress made during the sanctioned period. Q8: Does Annual work progress report and UC/SE need to be submitted financial year wise or annually? Annual work progress report should be submitted every year calculated based on the project start date.

The financial documents should be submitted immediately after completion of financial year ie after 31st March of every year. Q9: Does Bio-ethical clearance documents should be submitted at the time of application submission?

Valid mandatory bio-ethical clearance documents (IAEC, IEC, IBSC, IC-SCR, NAC-SCRT, wild life etc.) as applicable to the project should be submitted once the project is technically recommended by the PAC and approved by the SERB. Title of such clearances should be issued specifically on the title of the project or specific objectives of the project.

Provisionally approved or submission of documents to the respective bio-ethical committee for approval will not be accepted. Q10: what is project evaluation procedure? All the received proposals will be scrutinized for their eligibility as per the CRG specified guidelines.

Next stage, Program Advisory committee (PAC) constituted for the purpose will screen the proposal based on the technical merit, credential of the investigator(s), feasibility of executing the project and etc. The Proposals that are screened in will be sent to external reviewers and to the committee members for their detailed technical view on the project.

Based on the overall technical merit of the proposal and the competence of the investigator, PAC will grade all the proposals for further approval of the competent authority in SERB.

Extramural Research (EMR) funding scheme of SERB to academic institution, research laboratories and other R&D organizations to carry out basic research in all frontier areas of Science and Engineering is in limelight for more than four decades since from the inception of SERC. This scheme encourages emerging and eminent scientist in field of science and engineering for individual centric competitive mode of funding.

Since the scheme provides core research support to the active researchers, the existing name Extramural Research (EMR) has been renamed as Core Research Grant (CRG). The scheme provides core research support to active researchers to undertake research and development in frontier areas of Science and Engineering. Applicants [Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator(s) (Co-PI(s))] should be Indian citizens.

Foreign nationals (including OCI and NRI) are also eligible to apply provided they fulfil the eligibility criteria notified by SERB ( SERB Funding Guidelines for foreign nationals dated 27th Oct 2016 ). The applicant(s) must hold a regular academic/research position in a recognized academic institution or national laboratory or in any other recognized R & D institution in India.

Private Academic institutions with valid UGC / AICTE / PCI approval, Private R&D Institutions with valid DSIR-SIRO recognition and Voluntary and Non-Governmental Organizations registered under NITI-AAYOG Darpan portal are eligible to host a project. Faculties recruited through UGC-Faculty Recharge Program are eligible to apply.

INSPIRE Faculty, Ramanujan and Ramalingaswamy Fellows are also eligible to apply provided they have at least three and half years of tenure remaining at the time of submission of application. Investigators who will be superannuating during the duration of the project or already superannuated are also eligible to apply.

In such cases, a Faculty/Scientist from the host institute who has at least 5 years of service remaining should be associated as a Co-PI. The host institution should allow the investigator to continue after superannuation and provide required support towards implementation of the project. The PI and Co-Investigator(s) should hold Ph.

D. degree in Science, Mathematics, Engineering or M. D.

/ M. S. / M.

D. S. / M.

V. Sc. degree at the time of applying for grant.

The term "Regular" in the context of CRG refers to the applicants who are appointed against the sanctioned post or in a tenure post, but are likely to be renewed after the end of the tenure. [Note: Research Associates, Ad-hoc faculties, Guest Faculty, Visiting Scientist, consultant, Project Fellows and Faculty members whose contract is renewed every year are not eligible.

In respect of cases that are not mentioned above , SERB reserves the right to determine the eligibility] Aspirants of NPDF, SRG and CRG(EMR) can submit their proposal only once in a calender year in any of these schemes.

Nature & Duration of Support : The CRG scheme provides research support to an individual researcher or a group of researchers working in a recognized academic institution or national laboratory or in other recognized R & D institution in India. The funding is provided normally for a period of three years. The research grant is provided for equipment, manpower, consumables, travel and contingency.

"Overheads" is also be provided to the implementing institution as per prevailing norms of SERB. Proposals from applicants belonging to National Laboratories/Research Institutions should be in-line with the mandated research work of the lab/institution.

(A certificate duly authorised by the Head of the Institution should be uploaded along with the proposal) National Laboratories and Research Institutions should share 50% of the non-recurring cost of the project. For projects with total cost more than Rs. 80 lakh, 50% of the non-recurring and consumables cost should be shared by the Lab/Institution.

If project is approved for SERB support, a certificate from National Laboratory / Research Institution will be required for the same. Selection & Mode Of Application : An applicant is eligible to apply only one proposal during a call. Any proposal technically rejected should not be resubmitted without any substantial revision to any schemes or programs of the SERB.

Not more than one project is allowed at any given time. This rule should be implemented to the projects under the schemes Core Research Grant, Early Career Research Award, High Risk High Reward, Distinguished Investigator Award, SUPRA, Startup Research Grant, YSS, SERB SURE and Exponential Technologies. All other schemes will be considered as ‘Special Call’ and will be exempted from this rule.

The PI is encouraged to apply for another project six months prior to the completion of the project. Application for another project more than six months prior to the completion is not allowed. The Call for applications will be notified through the website " www.

serbonline. in " and " www. serb.

gov.in ". The application form along with a proper research proposal highlighting the research work to be undertaken should be submitted only through the website " www. serbonline.

in ". The selection will be based on the recommendations of Program Advisory Committee (PAC) constituted by the Board. If required, the applicants maybe called for discussion/ presentation.

Proposals submitted must be original in ideation and content. Plagiarism in any form will not be acceptable. All submitted proposals would be subjected to a third-party similarity check and proposals are liable to be rejected if found plagiarised.

Any text taken verbatim from other source needs to be identified using quotation marks and proper reference. Applicants are requested to pre-check their proposals for plagiarism before uploading. Proposals found containing plagiarised content will be rejected.

Scientific Social Responsibility : SERB has adopted Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy to imbibe a culture of social commitment among SERB Grantees. The policy intends to effectively utilize scientific infrastructure and expertise of SERB grantees to benefit other S&T stakeholders especially the less-endowed researchers and the society.

SSR activities need to be chosen after approval and depending on the activities chosen additional budget would be provided under separate head to carry out the chosen activities. SERB Grantees need to undertake the proposed SSR activities during their project period.

For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted: Applicant(s) should first register into the online website click here to register After log-in, applicant(s) are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile.

which includes Bio-data, Photo, Institute Address etc. If you have CO-PI in your proposal then ensure that all the CO-PI"s are also registered into the system following the same procedure.

Some of the details of your proposal like Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of project (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Budget (Manpower,Consumables,Travel, Equipment, Contingency, Overheads ) have to be entered at the time of proposal submission.

Other relevant information of the proposal has to be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 10 MB as other technical document (OTD).

Download Template Complete guideline for Principal Investigator for SERB-online system Documents Required (in PDF format) : For online submission of the application the following points may be noted: Biodata (under user profile section) Download Template Certificate from Principal Investigator Download Template Endorsement Letter from the Head of Institution Download Templatee If project is approved for SERB support, the Quotations of the approved equipment need to be uploaded within one month of the date of the Approval Letter.

Plagiarism undertaking Download Template The project proposal should be prepared according to the guidelines and submitted online through the website www. serbonline.

in The details of Programme Advisors / Coordinators and Programme Officers are given below Scientific Consultant --> Inorganic & Physical Chemistry Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Electrical, Electronics & Computer Engineering Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace Engineering & Robotics Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Civil, Infrastructure & Transportation Engineering Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Materials, Mining & Minerals Engineering Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Chemical and Environmental Engineering Biomedical and Health Sciences Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Organismal and Evolutionary Biology (AS) Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Quantitative Social Sciences Quantitative Social Sciences Scientific and Useful Profound Research Advancement (SUPRA) Frequently Asked Questions Q1: I want to apply for a SUPRA Research Grant scheme for the first time.

What is the maximum amount of the grant the Board will fund? There is no upper limit (or even lower limit) for a project grant. Q2: Does the Board has any priority areas for funding under SUPRA scheme?

No. Breakthrough research in any discipline of Science and Engineering. Q3: I am currently executing an CRG project in the area of Chemical Sciences. I want to apply for an another SUPRA project in Physical Sciences.

Will I be funded another project? Yes. The SUPRA is a special call.

Q4: Are Co-Investigators allowed in SUPRA project? If they are from different institutions, can the budget be provided separately to both the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator(s)? Yes.

Co-Investigator(s) are allowed in SUPRA project, provided the work proposed require complementary expertise for its implementation. Separate budget can also be provided to the Co-Investigator (s) even if they belong to different institutions. Q5: I am currently executing a SUPRA project in the area of Chemical Sciences.

I want to apply for an another SUPRA project in Physical Sciences. Will I be funded another project? No. The Board funds only one SUPRA project to an Investigator at a time.

www. serbonline. in and www.

serb. gov.in SERB has developed a scheme SERB-SUPRA (Scientific and Useful Profound Research Advancement) that seeks to explore new scientific breakthroughs, with long-term impact on our fundamental scientific understanding, and offer disruptive technologies at the cutting edge.

SERB-SUPRA is a scheme beyond normal core research grants and purposefully designed for high quality proposals consisting of new hypothesis or challenge existing ones and provide "out-of-box" solutions.

Transformative and disruptive research concepts based on innovative and unproven hypothesis, possessing a high degree of uncertainty, yet having conviction to produce a lasting impact across discipline boundaries qualify for support under SERB-SUPRA. Most important measures of this scheme are: Quantum of advances (incremental and short terms gains are strongly discouraged).

Extent of disruption in fundamental understanding or impact on outstanding research grand challenges: new areas, new concepts, new products, new disruptive technologies. Ability of research outcomes in enhancing scientific knowledge of the cutting-edge at the international level and/or emergence of critical technologies. Global impact, outstanding publications, advancement of science.

Applicants [Principal Investigator (PI) and / or Co-Principal Investigator(s) (Co-PI(s))] should be Indian citizens. Foreign nationals (including OCI and NRI) are also eligible to apply provided they fulfil the eligibility criteria notified by SERB (SERB Funding Guidelines for foreign nationals dated 27th Oct 2016.

The applicant(s) must hold a regular academic/research position in a recognized academic institution or national laboratory or in any other recognized R&D institution in India with at least 5 years of service remaining. The term "Regular" refers to the applicants who are appointed against the sanctioned post or in a tenure post but are likely to be renewed after the end of the tenure.

The PI and Co-PI who has a financial commitment in the proposal should have at least 5 years of service remaining at the time of submission of proposal. Private Academic institutions with valid UGC / AICTE / PCI approval, Private R&D Institutions with valid DSIR-SIRO recognition and Voluntary and Non-Governmental Organizations registered under NITI-AAYOG Darpan portal are eligible to host a project.

Faculties recruited through UGC-Faculty Recharge Program are eligible to apply. INSPIRE Faculty, Ramanujan and Ramalingaswamy Fellows, Research Associates, Ad-hoc faculties, Guest Faculty, Visiting Scientist, consultant, Project Fellows and Faculty membrs whose contract is renewed every year are not eligible. In respect of cases that are not mentioned here, SERB reserves the right to determine the eligibility.

The PI and Co-Investigator(s) should hold Ph. D. degree in Science, Mathematics, Engineering or M.

D / M. S. / M.

D. S. / M.

V. Sc degree at the time of applying for grant. Nature & Duration of Support : The SUPRA scheme provides research support to an individual researcher or a group of researchers working in a recognized academic institution or national laboratory or in other recognized R & D institutions in India.

Funding will be provided normally for a period of three years, which could be extended to 2 years (5 years total) subject to performance evaluation. The research grant is provided for equipment, manpower, consumables, travel and contingency. "Overheads" is also be provided to the implementing institution as per prevailing norms of SERB.

National Laboratories and Research Institutions should share 50% of the non-recurring cost of the project. For projects with total cost more than Rs. 80 lakh, 50% of the non-recurring and consumables cost should be shared by the Lab/Institution.

If project is approved for SERB support, a certificate from National Laboratory / Research Institution will be required for the same. Selection & Mode Of Application : A single submission of full SUPRA proposal will be subjected to a two-phase evaluation process.

First phase: Initial screening will be based on assessment of extended synopsis as described in the application format and research track record of the Principal Investigator, as judged by her/his CV. Only those proposals which proceed through the first phase will be sent out for external review.

Second phase: Full scientific proposal should meet the core mandate and features of SUPRA and it will be closely judged on these lines in the second step of the assessment process. Proposals qualifying after domain expert reviews may be subjected to formal presentation by PI / co-PIs before the Committee. An applicant is eligible to apply only one proposal during a call as a PI.

Any proposal technically rejected should not be resubmitted without any substantial revision to any schemes or programs of the SERB. Not more than one project is allowed at any given time as a Principal Investigator under the program SUPRA. The Call for applications will be notified through the website " www.

serbonline. in " and " www. serb.

gov.in ". The application form along with a proper research proposal highlighting the research work to be undertaken should be submitted online through the website " www. serbonline.

in ". The selection will be based on the recommendations of Program Advisory Committee (PAC) constituted by the Board. If required, the applicants maybe called for discussion/ presentation.

Proposals submitted must be original in ideation and content. Plagiarism in any form will not be acceptable. All submitted proposals might be subjected to a third-party similarity check and proposals are liable to be rejected if found plagiarised.

Any text taken verbatim from other source needs to be identified using quotation marks and proper reference. Applicants are requested to pre-check their proposals for plagiarism before uploading. Scientific Social Responsibility : SERB has adopted Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy to imbibe a culture of social commitment among SERB Grantees.

The policy intends to effectively utilize scientific infrastructure and expertise of SERB grantees to benefit other S&T stakeholders especially the less-endowed researchers and the society. SSR activities need to be chosen after approval and depending on the activities chosen additional budget would be provided under separate head to carry out the chosen activities.

SERB Grantees need to undertake the proposed SSR activities during their project period. For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted: Applicant should first register into the online website. click here to register .

If you have already registered, you can login using your user ID. After successful registration, user will be sent a confirmation mail on registered email ID. User must click on the URL provided in the mail to confirm registration.

After log-in, applicant(s) are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile. which includes Bio-data, Photo, Institute Address etc. If you have Co-PI in your proposal, then ensure that all the Co-PI"s are also registered into the system following the same procedure.

Details of Patent, Publications in last 5 years, Projects, Research Collaboration, Academic Supervision of all investigators (PI and all COPI"s) has to be provided Some of the details of your proposal like Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of project (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Budget (Manpower, Consumables, Travel, Equipment, Contingency, Overheads) must be entered at the time of proposal submission.

Other relevant information of the proposal must be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 10 MB as other technical document (OTD).

Download Template Documents required (in PDF) should be in prescribed format: Biodata (under user profile section) Download Template Certificate from Principal Investigator Download Template Endorsement Letter from the Head of Institution Download Template If project is approved for SERB support, the Quotations of the approved equipment need to be uploaded within one month of the date of the Approval Letter.

Plagiarism undertaking Download Template The project proposal should be prepared according to the guidelines and submitted online through the website www. serbonline.

in The details of Programme Advisors / Coordinators and Programme Officers are given below Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (FIRE) Frequently Asked Questions --> “Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (FIRE)”, intends to address the challenges in the research and innovation space in India, by creating an ecosystem that would accelerate the growth in the research work and drive the R&D landscape efficiently and effectively with close co-ordination with Industry.

Government-Industry collaboration for transforming research mind-set and culture in India to foster novel, transformative and impactful research ecosystem led by the Government of India and supported by the Industry. Creating ‘Research Fund’ with the objective to collaborate on research problems that can have an impact at a large scale and fund top high-quality research with maximum industry impact potential, at a national scale.

50% monetary fund match by DST-SERB. Indian citizens residing in India. The academic partner must hold a regular academic/research position in an academic institution or national laboratories or recognised R&D institutions.

More than one academic partner may be allowed. All industries (including MSME & industrial R&D Centres) are eligible. More than one Industry and or more than one Investigator from one Industry can be associated in a project.

Nature of Support and Duration : Scheme will be designed in partnership with Industry. A national call will be made for proposals by defining the scope of the scheme and its deliverables. Application & Selection Procedure : Prospective researchers from academia/lab contact Nodal Officer of respective Industries for identifying research partner/s from industry.

The industry and the academia partners work together in identified areas of research. SERB will constitute a Programme Management Review Committee (PMRC) to review the proposals. Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (FIRE) Intensification of Research in High Priority Areas (IRHPA) Frequently Asked Questions Scientist in regular service from academic and research institutions in India can submit a proposal under this scheme.

For specific guidelines, Please refer IRPHA notification call for proposals in specific areas as per the details below : SERB-IRHPA National Biosafety Level (BSL 3 / ABSL 3) Facilities Click here for more details Q2: When and How to Submit? The proposal should be submitted online only, through the website www. serbonline.

in . The format, guidelines and other details of the scheme are available in the same website. No hard copy of the proposal will be accepted.

Q3: Areas of Research Support?

In the current year, R&D proposals are solicited in the following areas: SERB Centre for Energy Transformation and Storage (Call is closed) SERB Centres on AI-based Earth Systems Modeling (Call is closed) SERB Centres for Antibody Engineering (Call is closed) SERB-IRHPA National Biosafety Level (BSL 3 / ABSL 3) Facilities (Call is open) Click here for more details The component of grant is similar to other project submitted to SERB.

However, the amount of grant is higher than regular projects. The duration of the project is 5 years. The host institute should have a sustainability plan to continue the research activities beyond the normal duration of 5 years.

Commitment of the Institute should be specified in the proposal. Q5: Mechanism of Implementation and Monitoring? The proposals submitted for support are peer reviewed by the experts in the area.

Specific expert committee will evaluate the proposals. SERB board takes the final decision following its appraisal and approval mechanisms. The sanctioned projects will be monitored through Management Advisory Committee constituted for this purpose.

The Intensification of Research in High Priority Areas (IRHPA) program of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) supports proposals in high priority areas where multidisciplinary / multi-institutional expertise is required which will put our nation in international science map in that particular discipline.

The Scheme is designed to provide major support to a few selected areas of research that have high priority from the viewpoint of advances in fundamental science and that can be of great significance for scientific and technological development. SERB identifies the priority areas and makes a national call for seeking proposals.

The necessary facilities required for implementing the identified high priority areas will be supported through this scheme. The project will be set up around established research groups led by a Principal Investigator (PI) with at least two co-PIs of complementary expertise from different departments / institutes to transform the program truly interdisciplinary and multi institutional.

The duration of the project is normally for a period of 5 years. Instructions for Online Application For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted: Principal Investigator (PI) should first register into the online website. click here to register After successful registration, user will be sent a confirmation mail on registered emaiID .

User must click on the url provided in the mail to confirm registration. After log-in, Principal Investigator (PI) are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile.

which includes Bio-data, Photo, Institute Address etc. Ensure that all CO-PI"s in your proposal are registered into the system and has filled Profile Detail section under User Profile which includes Bio data, photo, Institute Address, etc. Some of the details of your proposal like Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of project (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Budget (Manpower, Consumables, Travel, Equipment, Contingency, Overheads) have to be entered at the time of proposal submission.

Other relevant information of the proposal has to be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 10 MB as other technical document (OTD).

Download Template Documents required (in PDF) should be in prescribed format: Biodata (under user profile section) Download Template Certificate from Principal Investigator Download Template Endorsement Letter from the Head of Institution Download Template OTD is available for IRHPA Download Template Plagiarism undertaking Download Template Intensification of Research in High Priority Areas (IRHPA) Dr. Shashi Bhushan Pandey Empowerment and Equity Opportunities for Excellence in Science (EMEQ ) Frequently Asked Questions Q1: Can I apply for EMEQ Opportunities after my superannuation in academic institutions/national labs or any other recognized R&D institutions in the field of Science and Engineering?

No. The applicant should have at least four years of service remaining before superannuation as on the date of submission of the proposal. Q2: I am working abroad as post-doc, and I want to return to India. I intend to apply for EMEQ.

But I have not yet finalized my place of work. Am I eligible to apply under the scheme? No. The applicant should be an active researcher belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category working on regular basis in academic institutions/national labs or any other recognized R&D institutions in the field of Science and Engineering.

Q3: Can I apply for a project under EMEQ scheme when I am already implementing another project (such as EMR) of SERB? Q4: Can I apply for a project under EMEQ scheme when I am already implementing another project within the same scheme in SERB? No. Researchers / Scientists who are running an ongoing project under this program as on the date of submission of the proposal, are not eligible to apply.

Q5: Is there any specific time-line for applying proposals under this scheme? The project proposals for consideration under EMEQ scheme can be submitted only when the call for proposal is made. The call will be made in the website www.

serbonline. in and www. serb.

gov.in Q6: What is the maximum amount of the grant the Board will fund? The funding is provided up to a maximum of Rs. 50.

0 lakh (excluding overhead charges) for a period not exceeding three years. The budget should be proposed based on the requirement for the successful implementation of the project. The final decision regarding the budget will be made by the Task Force Committee.

Q7: Can I have a Co-PI in EMEQ project? Q8: I belong to OBC category. Can I apply under EMEQ Scheme?

No. This scheme is specially meant to support scientists belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe only. Q9: If I am from the SC/ST category, am I eligible to apply only in EMEQ and not in EMR scheme? You are eligible to apply in both the schemes provided the proposals are distinctly different.

Q10: Does the Board have any priority areas for funding under EMEQ scheme? No. The Board funds all the areas of Science and Engineering without discriminating any discipline. Research proposals outside the normal activities of such institutions (i.e. National R&D Programs, Programs in newly emerging and front-line areas of research etc.) will be preferred.

Further, proposals involving purely survey-oriented work and routine studies will not be normally considered. The proposal will be funded if it has novelty and the investigator has the competence to execute the project. Q11: Does the Board allow to travel abroad under EMEQ scheme?

International travel is not supported under the EMEQ project. Q12: Do I need to provide any special document/certificates for project involving Recombinant DNA work