SERB and Other Sources of Extramural Support under the Ministry of Science and Technology

For decades, the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has been the most important source for competitive research grants in India. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) which recently replaced SERC, has turned out to be less effective than SERC. An impression has gained ground that the Department of Biotechnology is shifting its emphasis from competitive research grants to organizations and institutions. The famed extramural programme of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research appears to be in jeopardy. Except in a few islands of opulence, most of the scientific research in the country in the non-strategic sector is being carried out using competitive grants. The present crisis in the system for support of such grants bodes ill for Indian science. It needs to be seriously addressed and overcome.