Impress And Sparc Schemes | Burning Issue – Editorial Analysis

IMPRESS (414 crore) and SPARC (418 crore )Schemes.

The government will put a total of 832 crore rupees together in this scheme.

Important for Prelims point of view.

NOTES

HRD Ministry launches IMPRESS (Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences )Scheme to promote Research in Social Sciences.

The government support would include a total funding of Rs.414 crore on 1500 projects for 11 policy themes in the social sciences at the cost of Rs. 20-25 Lakh per project.

THEME PROJECTS

State and Democracy Urban transformation
Media, Culture and Society
Employment Skills and Rural transformation
Governance Innovation and Public Policy
Growth Macro-trade and Economic Policy
Agriculture and Rural Development
Health and Environment Science and Education
Social Media and Technology
Politics, Law and Economics.

NODAL AGENCY IS APPOINTED

The Indian Council of Social Science and Research(ICSSR) will be the project implementing agency for IMPRESS.

Focus on social science.

SPARC(Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration)SCHEME

On October 25, 2018, the Union Ministry of HRD has launched Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) scheme, which aims to improve the
research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world.

FEATURES OF THE SCHEME

• Under the scheme 600, joint research proposals(between Indian institute and foreign university) will be awarded for 2 years.

The topic will be related to science and humanity.

THRUST AREAS

The scheme will improve the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world to jointly solve problems of national and international relevance.

Five thrust(fundamental) areas identified are as follows:

1. Fundamental Research.
2. Emergent Areas of Impact(nanotechnology /biotechnology)
3. Convergence
4. Action-Oriented Research
5. Innovation-Driven

NODAL AGENCY

IIT-Kharagpur is the national Coordinating Institute to implement the SPARC programme.