Fellowship Program To Connect Indian Diaspora With Academic Institutes

A number of initiatives are being taken to bring the Indian diaspora on board in the efforts to make India a developed and prosperous country. In line with it, the government has launched a new fellowship program to connect the STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics & medicine) diaspora with the academic and R&D institutions in the country.

The Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (Vaibhav) fellowships will be given out to 75 scholars in 18 knowledge verticals for collaborative research work leading to sharing of knowledge, wisdom and best practices in the frontier areas of science and technology.

The fellowships would be awarded by the Department of Science and Technology under Ministry of Science and Technology to outstanding scientist/technologists of Indian origin (NRI/OCI/PIO) who are engaged in research activities in their respective countries. The selected fellows would be invited to work in the verticals like quantum technology, health, pharma, electronics, agriculture, energy, computer sciences and material sciences.

The fellowship programme launched as a step to further those efforts by shaping and implementing the Vaibhav programme, which envisages collaboration between scientists of Indian diaspora with Indian higher educational institutions (HEIs), universities and public-funded scientific institutions.

The fellow would identify an Indian institution for collaboration and may spend up to two months in a year for a maximum of 3 years. Fellowship would include grant up to Rs 4 lakh per month, international and domestic travel, accommodation and contingencies. The fellows are expected to collaborate with their Indian counterparts and help initiate research activities in the host institution in the cutting-edge areas of science and technology.

The applicants can download the proposal formats from websites www.dst.gov.in or www.onlinedst.gov.in and submit the completed application form with all relevant information through e-PMS portal of DST. Applications for the first call have to be submitted by 31st July 2023.

Meanwhile, the government organised a Vaibhav Summit in New Delhi which saw participation of more than 25,000 attendees. Indian STEMM diaspora from more than 70 countries participated in the deliberations.

Inaugurating the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "The Government of India has taken numerous measures to boost science, research and innovation. Science is at the core of our efforts towards socio-economic transformations."