22 ‘Vaibhav’ Fellows to build long-term research synergy

Subject: S&T

Section: Msc

Context:

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) in India announced the first batch of fellows for the Vaibhav scheme, aimed at attracting Indian-origin scientists from abroad for short-term collaborations.

Details

This initiative includes twenty-two scientists, primarily from North American and European institutions like the California Institute of Technology, the University of Oxford, the University of Michigan, the University of Geneva, the University of Waterloo, Canada, and the University of Oslo.
These fellows will spend one to two months annually, for up to three years, at Indian institutes such as the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
Two “distinguished fellowships” were awarded to senior professors Arogyaswami Paulraj from Stanford University and Jitendra Malik from the University of California, Berkley.

VAIBHAV Fellowship Programme:

The Vaibhav scheme, launched in June 2023 following Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s call to more closely involve the Indian diaspora in India’s development, is similar to the Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty (Vajra) scheme initiated in 2018.

Key Features of the VAIBHAV Fellowship Programme:

The programme will focus on 18 identified knowledge verticals, including quantum technology, health, pharmaceuticals, electronics, agriculture, energy, computer sciences, and material sciences, among others.
Eligibility: The fellowship is open to outstanding scientists and technologists of Indian origin (Non-resident Indians (NRI)/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIO)/Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) who are actively engaged in research activities in their respective countries.
Selected fellows will have the opportunity to work in collaboration with Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), universities, and public-funded scientific institutions.
They may spend up to two months per year, for a maximum of three years, at an Indian institution of their choice.
Fellowship Grant: VAIBHAV fellows will receive a monthly fellowship grant of INR 4,00,000, which will support their research activities during the collaboration period.
Travel, Accommodation, and Contingencies: The fellowship will cover international and domestic travel expenses, accommodation, and contingencies, ensuring a conducive research environment for the fellows.

‘Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty’ (VAJRA) scheme- 2018:

In a bid to bring together Indian scientists abroad and India-based researchers for conducting joint research in India, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has launched a scheme named ‘Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty’ (VAJRA).
Features:
- The Visiting Advanced Joint Research (Vajra) faculty scheme is a dedicated programme for foreign scientists and academicians, with emphasis on non-resident Indians, persons of Indian origin and overseas citizens of India to work as adjunct faculty in the government-funded academic and research institutions.
- Under this scheme, scientists or senior researchers abroad – of Indian origin or otherwise – can collaborate with faculties here.
- Under the scheme, foreign researchers would receive endowments at par with those in their own countries. The endowments for faculties would be US $15,000 in the first month of residency and US $10,000, for the remaining months.
- The idea of the scheme is to bring the best of the world to India and conduct research here. The broad areas of research like energy, health, advance material and others would be promoted under the scheme.

Source: TH