ANRF ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF 10 INSTITUTIONS FOR ESTABLISHING CONVERGENCE RESEARCH CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE (COES)

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has announced the selection of 10 institutions to establish Convergence Research Centres of Excellence (Co...

What Happened

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has announced the selection of 10 institutions to establish Convergence Research Centres of Excellence (CoEs) under a programme designed to integrate STEM research with social sciences and humanities.
The programme received 945 proposals from institutions across India, signalling strong national interest in interdisciplinary research.
The 10 selected institutions are: IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Dharwad, NIT Agartala, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) Bengaluru, IIM Jammu, Institute of Human Development (IHD) Delhi, Chanakya University, and PSGR Krishnammal College for Women.
Research themes at these centres include: archaeology and traditional knowledge systems, digital humanities, rural development, healthcare innovation, human-climate interaction, AI-assisted preservation of North-East Indian folklore, generative AI's impact on India's labour market, digital empowerment of artisans, and computational economics.
The initiative is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

Static Topic Bridges

Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

ANRF is the apex body for strategic direction of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship across scientific and social science disciplines in India. It was established under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 (passed by Parliament and receiving Presidential assent in August 2023).

Established by: ANRF Act, 2023
Replaces: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), which was dissolved and subsumed into ANRF
SERB was established under the SERB Act, 2008
Governing Board: Chaired by the Prime Minister (ex officio); the Minister of Science and Technology serves as Vice-Chairperson
Funding model: Unlike SERB, ANRF is designed to draw significantly from private sector and philanthropic foundations, not just public funds
Modelled on: US National Science Foundation (NSF) in terms of mandate breadth
Domains covered: Natural sciences (including mathematics), engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, health and agriculture, and the scientific and technological interfaces of humanities and social sciences
Annual allocation: The Union Budget 2024-25 allocated ₹2,000 crore to ANRF; the NEP 2020 had envisioned ₹50,000 crore over five years for R&D via NRF

Connection to this news: The Convergence Research CoEs are ANRF's flagship initiative demonstrating its expanded mandate beyond SERB's purely STEM-focused funding — explicitly bridging social sciences and humanities with science and technology.

Convergence Research: The Interdisciplinary Model

Convergence research is an integrative approach that combines expertise from STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) with social sciences and humanities to address complex, systemic societal challenges that no single discipline can resolve.

Contrasts with single-discipline research silos
Required for challenges such as: climate change adaptation, digital inequality, health equity, AI ethics, and food systems
NEP 2020 explicitly calls for multidisciplinary education and research as a national priority
The ANRF CoE model creates permanent institutional ecosystems rather than ad hoc collaborations
Global precedents: US NSF's "Convergence Accelerator" programme; EU's Horizon Europe interdisciplinary clusters

Connection to this news: The 10 CoEs are specifically mandated to pursue convergence research — their thematic portfolios (from AI-labour market impacts to traditional knowledge systems) reflect precisely the kind of cross-disciplinary integration ANRF's mandate calls for.

India's R&D Investment Challenge

India's research and development expenditure as a share of GDP has remained persistently low, constraining its ability to become a global innovation leader.

India's current R&D spending: approximately 0.6–0.7% of GDP (as of recent years)
Global comparison: China ~2.4%, USA ~3.5%, South Korea ~4.9% of GDP
India's target: NEP 2020 and various policy documents envision raising R&D spending to 2% of GDP
India ranks around 40th globally in the Global Innovation Index
Number of researchers per million population: India ~255, China ~1,371, USA ~4,412
ANRF's mandate includes catalysing private sector R&D investment, which has historically been low in India compared to public sector research

Connection to this news: ANRF's Convergence CoE programme is part of a broader push to upgrade India's R&D ecosystem — the selection of diverse institutions (including IIMs, NITs, and women's colleges alongside IITs) reflects an intent to broaden the research base geographically and institutionally.

National Education Policy 2020 and Research

NEP 2020, approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2020, is the first education policy revision since 1986. It introduced multidisciplinary university structures, research-integrated undergraduate programmes, and the National Research Foundation concept.

NEP 2020 vision: India as a global knowledge superpower by 2040
Multidisciplinary education: Top HEIs to become "multidisciplinary education and research universities" (MERUs)
Research integration: Undergraduate programmes to include research tracks; PhD regulations overhauled
NRF provision in NEP: Section 27 of NEP 2020 proposed the NRF to fund, mentor, and build research capacity — now operationalised as ANRF
Viksit Bharat 2047: ANRF CoEs directly contribute to the goal of making India a developed economy by its centenary of independence

Connection to this news: The ANRF Convergence CoEs operationalise a core NEP 2020 recommendation. The selection of 10 institutions spanning IITs, NITs, IIMs, and specialised institutions demonstrates the "multidisciplinary" ethos NEP 2020 envisioned.

Key Facts & Data

ANRF Act passed: August 2023
ANRF replaces: SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board, est. 2008)
Governing structure: PM chairs Governing Board (ex officio)
Total proposals received for CoE programme: 945
Institutions selected: 10 (includes IITs, NITs, IIM, NIAS, and others)
Research themes: digital humanities, traditional knowledge, AI and labour, rural development, computational economics, healthcare
India's R&D as % of GDP: ~0.64% (vs. target of 2%)
NEP 2020 NRF allocation proposed: ₹50,000 crore over 5 years
Union Budget 2024-25 ANRF allocation: ₹2,000 crore
ANRF modelled on: US National Science Foundation (NSF)