Top Researchers Face Funding Delays, Lack of Clarity on New Payment System
The Wire Staff
Real journalism holds power accountable
Since 2015, The Wire has done just that.
But we can continue only with your support.
New Delhi: India's top researchers who should have received funds from central agencies for this financial year in April have been left in the lurch due to bureaucratic delays, with purchases on hold and the project staff going unpaid for as long as three months, the Times of India reported.
This comes at a time when the Union government has made tall promises of increased funding by setting up a National Research Foundation (NRF).
The situation worsened with the Centre trying to implement a new method of transferring funds to IITs and IISc. The institutes are required to open zero balance bank accounts that will get credited only after an expense is actually incurred, TOI reported.
“I last received grants in March 2022. Now, we are being told that unless accounts of all projects awarded across India are cleared, no researcher will get their annual grants. This is an issue with every Indian scientist who is working for DST (department of science and technology) or DBT (department of biotechnology). I have been paying money to my project staff from my own pocket,” BHU senior scientist S.C. Lakhotia told the TOI. “The finance ministry must understand that civil projects and research projects have different dynamics and requirements,” he added.
Also read: Researchers Express Concern Over Political Leadership of the NRF, Lack of Funds
An IIT researcher told the newspaper that he last got funding in 2020. “No one is getting funds from the DBT. On asking about the reasons, we are told nothing is in DBT’s control,” he said.
Professor Lakhotia and others at the BHU have submitted utilisation certificates till March 2023. Yet, funds to continue work have not been credited to their accounts, the report said.
“Projects are mapped to agencies and there will be no new release order till the previous money has been utilised or accounted for by everyone under that agency. If any user defaults, everyone is going to suffer,” he explained.
“After a lot of delays caused while trying to understand the new system and on the part of the bank, the money started getting reflected in early March. But on April 1, the balance became zero. To date, neither has all of the unspent balance come back, nor has any of the fresh grants for the new year come,” a senior dean of a STEM college told the TOI.
This article went live on July thirteenth, two thousand twenty three, at fifteen minutes past two in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.