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.
Under the scheme 600 joint research proposals will be awarded for 2 years. The scheme will facilitate strong research collaboration between Indian research groups with the best in class faculty and renowned research groups in the leading universities of the world, in areas that are at the cutting edge of science or with direct social relevance to the mankind, specifically India.
SPARC scheme proposes to enable productive academic cooperation by supporting the following critical components that can catalyze impact making research. This Scheme is expected to have a major impact in providing the best international expertise to address major national problems. The scheme exposes Indian academicians to the best collaborators abroad to enable international faculty to stay in India for a longer duration. The scheme provides Indian students an opportunity to work in the world class laboratories, to develop strong bilateral relationships in research, and improve the international ranking of Indian Institutes.
Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has established Innovation Cell at AICTE premises in New Delhi. It aims to systematically foster culture of innovation in all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country.
Its primary mandate is to encourage, inspire and nurture young students by exposing them to new ideas and processes resulting in innovative activities in their formative years fostered through network of innovation clubs in HEIs. It will undertake major programs such as Network of Innovation Clubs (NIC), Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2019, National Student Startup Policy (NSSP). It will prescribe basic framework for structure, formation, structure and smooth running of ICs in each HEIs and share list of different activities which ICs need to undertake for entire academic year.