SCIENCE & ENGINEERING RESEARCH BOARD
( A statutory body of the Department of
Science & Technology, Government of India)
One of the most notable developments in the S&T sector in the XI Plan has been the setting up of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) through an Act of Parliament, viz. the Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008. Promoting basic research in Science and Engineering and to provide financial assistance to persons engaged in such research, academic institutions, research and development laboratories, industrial concerns and other agencies for such research and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto are the primary and distinctive mandate of the Board.
SERB aims to build up best management systems which would match the best global practices in the area of promotion and funding of basic research.
SERB IS NOW STARTED TAKING APPLICATION ONLY THROUGH ONLINE MODE.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
EMR
Individual centric competitive mode of funding will be provided under the EMR funding schemes. SERB supports potential scientists for undertaking research in frontier areas of S&T in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences & Mathematical Sciences.
The Science and Engineering Research Board has decided to invite Core Research Grant (EMR – PAC) proposals through “Call for Proposals” twice a year. The proposal submission window for Principal Investigators is open for two months during June-July and second spell starting from November to December in a year. The new structure ensures faster delivery of services with known timelines to the stakeholders.
HRR
The Scheme for Funding High Risk - High Reward Research aims at supporting proposals that are conceptually new and risky, and if successful, expected to have a paradigm shifting influence on the S&T. This may be in terms of formulating new hypothesis, or scientific breakthroughs which aid in emergence of new technologies.
N-PDF
The SERB-National Post Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) is aimed to identify motivated young researchers and provide them support for doing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. The fellows will work under a mentor, and it is hoped that this training will provide them a platform to develop as an independent researcher.
Seminar/ Symposia
The Science and Technology Professional Bodies & Academes of Science and Engineering play an important role in creating cohesiveness amongst scientific community by organising technical meetings, seminars, conferences and workshops. They also bring out scientific journals, technical bulletins, proceedings of networking events and other publications to serve the cause of wider dissemination of scientific research output. Such events help scientific community to keep abreast of the latest developments in their respective scientific / technical areas and also provide a platform to establish connectivity with other individuals and research groups to exchange information not only limited to the event but on a regular basis.
SERB extends partial financial support, on selective basis, for organising such events (National as well as International). Academic institutions, research laboratories, professional bodies and other non-profit organisations, engaged in promoting scientific research, are eligible for financial support under the scheme. The support is primarily given to encourage participation of young scientists and research professionals in such events along with nominal support for pre-operative expenses like announcements brouchers etc.
The primary focus of the scheme is to support events having strong orientation towards scientific research in the areas of basic sciences, engineering, technology, agriculture & medicines. Events dealing with social science, management and those purely concerned with policy matters are generally not encouraged but may be considered as an exceptional case if there is a strong interface with mainstream areas of support. The scientific/technical contents of the events, thematic relevance, contextual impact and extent & level of participation are key components for deciding the support worthiness and quantum of support for individual events.
SERB Woman Excellence Award
This Award is given to young woman scientists below 40, who have received recognition of any one of the national academies of the country. The Scheme offers a research grant of Rs.5 lacs per annum for a period of 3 years.
ECR
Early Career Research Award scheme aims to provide quick research support to the young researchers who are in their early career for pursuing exciting and innovative research in frontier areas of science and engineering.
EMEQ
Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) is expanding its reach across wider sections of the research community through new initiatives since its inception. It strives for promoting excellence in research together with equity and inclusiveness. A successful step towards facilitating equal participation of weaker secions of society in research and development is the initiation of a special scheme titled Empowerment and Equity Opportunities for Excellence in Science (EMEQ).
J C Bose National Fellowship
The fellowship is meant to recognize active scientists and engineers for their outstanding performance and contributions. The fellowships are scientist-specific and very selective.
WEA
This Award is given to young woman scientists below 40, who have received recognition of any one of the national academies of the country. The Scheme offers a research grant of Rs.5 lacs per annum for a period of 3 years.
ITS
ITS Scheme is designed to provide financial assistance for presenting a research paper or chairing a session or delivering a keynote address in an international scientific event (conference/seminar/symposium/workshop etc.). In addition, support is also provided to young scientists (age limit 35 years as on date of conference) for attending training programmes and short-term schools/workshops/courses. Economy class air-fare by shortest route, airport-tax and visa fees are provided under the scheme. Registration Fee is provided to young scientist in addition to the above support.
Applications for support under International Travel Support (ITS) Scheme can now be submitted online through the portal www.its.serb.gov.in. Researchers will be able to submit the applications within the window of 60-90 days from the start of the scientific event. For e.g, on Oct. 1, 2015, researcher will be able to submit applications for events starting between 30th Nov 2015 and 29th December 2015. The system will not accept early or late submission of applications.
SERB will consider applications received on either modes (offline and online) till Oct. 31, 2015. After Oct. 31, 2015, only online applications will be considered.
In case of any difficulty in submitting the applications online, researchers can contact ITS support cell through click to email / phone: 011 26590458.
Ramanujan Fellowship
The fellowship is meant for brilliant scientists and engineers from all over the world to take up scientific research positions in India, especially those scientists who want to return to India from abroad. The fellowships are scientist-specific and very selective. The Ramanujan Fellows could work in any of the scientific institutions and universities in the country and they would be eligible for receiving regular research grants through the extramural funding schemes of various S&T agencies of the Government of India.
SERB Women Excellence Award
SERB Women Excellence Award is a one-time award given to women scientists below 40 years of age and who have received recognition from any one or more of the following national academies such as Young Scientist Medal, Young Associate etc.
