CALL FOR PROPOSALS

ADVANCED RESEARCH GRANT

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

ANRF has been established through an Act of Parliament (ANRF Act, 2023), to
promote Research and Development (R&D) and foster a robust culture of research
and innovation throughout India’s Universities, Colleges, and National Research
Laboratories, and other recognized research institutions. ANRF acts as an apex
body to provide high-level strategic direction to scientific research in the country
in alignment with the recommendations of the National Education Policy. ANRF
supports collaborations among academia, government departments, research
institutions, and the industry to propel the nation towards excellence in science
and technology

(A) Introduction to the ARG Program: Advanced Research Grant (ARG) is a

competitive program providing financial assistance to researchers and scientists
in academic institutions, National Research Laboratories, and other DSIR-SIRO
recognised research organisations eligible to receive grants-in-aid from
Government of India (GoI) to carry out high-impact fundamental or basic research
(Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1-3) and applied research (TRL 1 – 6) in
frontier areas of science and technology. This program encourages participation
from emerging, mid-career, as well as established researchers, offering funding
opportunities for individual and collaborative projects The proposals are expected
to develop innovative approaches to advance knowledge in their respective fields
with potential for transformative impact In addition to supporting individual,
fundamental, and applied research initiatives that explore bold, contemporary
ideas, the ARG Program particularly encourages the following types of research
inspired by potential for transformative impact:

● Collaborative Research involving multiple investigators across institutions

or disciplines (in small collaborations or larger collaborations).

● Interdisciplinary Research that bridges diverse fields to address complex

scientific questions and pressing societal challenges of India or the world.

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(B) Objectives and Scope of the Program: The ARG Program supports research
and development in frontier areas of natural sciences including mathematical
sciences; engineering & technology; environmental sciences; earth & atmospheric
sciences; and scientific & technological interfaces of humanities & social sciences.
It aims to harness the collective potential of the Indian R&D ecosystem and ensure
the nation’s future preparedness, in line with the Viksit Bharat initiative of the
Government of India and has the following objectives:

● To provide research support to researchers in recognised academic institutions,

National Research Laboratories, and other recognised research organisations in
India.
● To support original, novel, and scientifically ambitious research that has the
potential to significantly advance knowledge and practice in its field.
● To promote collaboration among researchers, leading to high impact
interdisciplinary projects to tackle complex scientific and societal challenges.

● To encourage collaboration between researchers in recognised academic

institutions/ National Research Laboratories/ other research organisations and
industry partners and researchers.

● To encourage bold, innovative approaches that address contemporary and

future challenges and opportunities at both the national and global levels.

(C) Eligibility Criteria:

1. Nationality of the Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator(s)

(Co-PI(s)) (1) Indian citizens, (2) Foreign nationals (including OCI and PIO)
employed in an eligible institution (see paragraph C 2) in India (as a PI with an
Indian Co-PI, or as a co-PI with an Indian PI), provided they have sufficient
residual official service in India (project duration+1 year) and fulfil the eligibility
criteria notified by ANRF (Norms for OCI and PIO to apply for grant in ANRF ).

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2. The applicant(s) (PIs and Co-PIs) must hold a regular academic, research or
Professor of Practice position in a recognized academic institution or National
Research Laboratory or in any other recognized research organisation in India.
In respect of cases that are not mentioned above, ANRF reserves the right to
determine the eligibility.
3. The applicant(s) must hold a Ph.D. degree in Sciences, Mathematics,
Engineering, Medicine, Social Sciences. Applications with Master’s Degree in
medicine, surgery, or dental sciences (M.D. / M.S. / M.D.S. / M. V.Sc.) can apply
two years after obtaining degree. Researchers pursuing Ph.D. (Full-Time/Part-
Time) are not eligible to apply.
4. The term "Regular" in the context of ARG refers to applicants who are appointed
against a sanctioned post or on a tenure-track post of an Institute/University,
and are likely to be renewed after the end of the tenure. Research Associates,
Post-doctoral fellows, Ad-hoc faculties, Guest Faculties, Visiting Scientists,
Consultants, Project Fellows, Faculty members/researchers whose contract is
renewed every year are not eligible to apply. In respect of cases that are not
mentioned above, ANRF reserves the right to determine the eligibility.

5. Faculty members recruited through, INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship, Ramanujan

Fellowship, and Ramalingaswamy Fellowship Programs are also eligible to apply.
PIs or Co-PIs in these fellowships may also study section H (Transfers), about
transferring their project to a new institution or regularizing in the same
institution.

6. Service Duration:

(a) In general, PI and Co-PIs should have at least “the duration of the proposed
project plus one year” of official service remaining at the time of submission of
proposals (for purposes of computation, the last date for submission of proposals
will be taken).

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 (b) Notwithstanding the above, for faculty or researchers who will be of age 65
during the period of the project or individuals who have super-annuated, and who
are officially re-appointed by the host institution and allowed to be PIs, ANRF
permits such individuals to submit to and/or participate in ARG as a PI (or Co-PI),
but there must be another Co-PI (or PI respectively) on the proposal who satisfies
Section C 6 (a).

(c) Under no condition will ANRF projects be allowed to continue with a PI or

Co-PI aged 70. Such individual’s host institution should ensure the transfer of PI
responsibilities to Co-PI who satisfies Section C 6 (a), and undertake that all other
terms and conditions of the grant are met.

7. Private Academic institutions with valid UGC / AICTE / PCI approval, private
R&D Institutions with valid DSIR-SIRO recognition, and voluntary and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) registered under NITI-AAYOG Darpan
portal are eligible to host a project.

8. Overlap of Proposals: The proposals submitted to different funding

organizations or programs within Government of India (GoI) must not have scope
overlap of the specific work for which funding is sought. In their proposal, PIs
are encouraged to mention other projects/proposals ongoing with GoI and
articulate the differences of the submitted proposal proactively.

9. The role and technical contribution, and accountability of each PI or Co-PI must
be clearly articulated in the pre-proposal and full proposal. Co-PIs cannot be
added in name only, or with a weak contribution or accountability. This can be
ground for rejection at the pre-proposal review stage (see section G).

(D) Evaluation Criteria:

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● Scientific quality and novelty. Breakthrough thinking, disruptive innovations or
leapfrog ideas in all projects, and radically lowered costs or value in applied
projects are encouraged.

● Potential for advancing the state-of-the-art in scientific or technological

baselines (for fundamental/basic research), or economic baselines (for applied
projects). Significant advances will be prioritized over incremental advances.

● Clarity of deliverables and outcomes. The proposals are expected to articulate

clearly the deliverables and expected impact, at the commencement and at the
conclusion of the project. Bold high risk / high reward ideas are encouraged,
with an articulation of the asymmetric upside on a positive outcome, and
elaboration of a risk mitigation strategy including fail fast, and iterated learning.

● Feasibility and innovation in research methodology

● Potential for high impact in the advancement of knowledge in the field or applied
outcomes beyond publications and patents. Impact articulation is critically
important for 4 and 5 year proposals (with concrete interim impact after 3 years),
for proposals exceeding ₹ 1 Crore.
● Interdisciplinary proposals should clearly bring out the integration of subject
disciplines with a compelling rationale, as well as cohesiveness and
complementary expertise in the team.

● The content of the submitted proposal (and presentations in the review process)
will be the primary source of evaluation. As an additional, or secondary source,
evidence of relevant expertise in the proposed area, and performance in past
projects, by the team of investigators may be considered in the evaluation.

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(E) Guidelines:

1. Only one researcher will lead the project as a Principal investigator (PI) with
full ownership of the project. A proposal may include Co-PIs, either from the
same host institute or other institutions. ANRF encourages PIs or co-PIs from
emerging academic institutions with well-defined roles to promote research
and innovation capacity development across the country.
2. A proposal can be submitted by a team comprising the PI and up to two Co-PIs.
Multidisciplinary proposals may have a larger team comprising the PI and up to
5 Co-PIs. Researchers who wish to contribute scientifically to the project
without any need for funding may be included as “Honorary Investigators.”
ANRF further encourages participation of researchers from the industry/private
research labs as Investigators, without funding support to them.
3. The PI and host institution will be the point of contact with ANRF. In the case
multiple institutions participate in a project, the PI and host institution shall
take full responsibility for coordinating with all the investigators of the project
to ensure the successful completion of the project objectives, including
financial closure. ANRF is moving towards a principle of administrative
responsibility to be held by the host institution, and technical responsibility by
the PI. Till this is not fully implemented, the PI and host institution will hold
joint responsibility. PIs are advised to inform their host institutions’
administration and ensure an administrative nodal point of contact is also
provided to ANRF for the administrative responsibility.
4. It may be noted that financial support for an ARG project will be provided to at
most three institutions: the institution of the PI, and up to two additional
institutions, each represented by at least one Co-PI.
5. For collaborative projects, it is recommended to have a Co-PI from the lead host
institution, with the required number of years of official service remaining
(project duration plus one year), to enable the Co-PI to take up the
responsibility of successful completion of the project (with the approval of
ANRF) in the absence of or discontinuance of the PI. This consideration should
be incorporated during the formation of the project team, consistent with

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 eligibility outlined in Section C. For individual projects it is sufficient to have
just the PI alone.
6. In the case of proposals that essentially need certain additional domain
expertise and where neither the PIs nor the Co-PI(s) can provide that specific
expertise, it is imperative that a domain expert be included as an Honorary
Investigator.

[The Advanced Research Grant (ARG) subsumes the Core Research Grant
(CRG) of the erstwhile SERB]

(F) Nature & Duration of Support :

1. The ARG Program offers funding for projects for a maximum period of five years.
For a project beyond three three-year duration, while the sanction order will be
for the longer duration, funding is initially provided for a duration of three years.
Extensions to four or five years may be considered; however, extended support
beyond the initial three-year period will be provided in a phased manner (i.e.
3+1 for 4 years and 3+1+1 for five years), contingent upon demonstrated
research progress, impact and outcomes, in addition to publications and
patents.

2. Budget: The research grant will be provided under two budget heads: (A)
Recurring [Research personnel, Consumables, Travel, Field Work Costs,
Contingencies and other costs (to cover Cloud Compute Credits, Software
Licenses, Publication Costs, Annual Maintenance Charges, Short-term Facility
Access)] and (B) Non-Recurring (Equipment, Software Purchased, Long-term
purchase of cloud or remote facility access). An indicative breakup is to be
provided under each head. Once the funds are sanctioned, operational flexibility
within Recurring Head (A) or Non-Recurring head (B). However no reallocation
of funds will be permissible from (A) to (B) or vice-versa. "Overheads" will also
be provided to the host institution, over and above the total project cost, as per
prevailing norms of ANRF. Operational flexibility is provided to utilize funds
under Recurring head subject to the following conditions:

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 (a) Research Personnel: Operational flexibility is provided for engaging research
personnel in the project. The norms for emoluments, and general terms and
conditions of research personnel engaged in the project will be as per ANRF
norms, informed through Office Memoranda viz., ANRF/OM/N/01/2024 and
SB/S9/Z-06/2019 and updated from time to time.

(b) All personnel, including Research personnel engaged under the project, for
the full/part duration of the project, are to be treated as temporary
employees and will be governed by the administrative rules/service
conditions (for leave, TA/DA etc.) of the host institute. They shall not to be
treated as employees of the ANRF or Government of India nor permanent
employees of the host institute.

(c) Travel: Budget of up to Rs. 5 Lakhs will be provided for a project to undertake
travel related to the project. International travel for project-related work is
also permitted within this travel head.

(d) Contingency: Contingency funds of up to Rs. 5 Lakhs will be provided for a

project. They can be also utilized for registration charges for international
conferences.

(e) The PI shall ensure that the total funds sanctioned under the recurring head
is not exceeded in any case.

(f) Publication and patent filing charges: Expenditure towards open access
publications in top journals of any discipline is permitted. However, the PI
must obtain prior approval from ANRF to utilize the project funds for
publication related expenditures, through the ANRF online portal. Funds
under the recurring head can also be utilized for patent filing charges.

(g) Equipment: The change of approved or sanctioned equipment is generally

not permitted and may only be considered on a case-by-case basis, provided
it is within the sanctioned budget for equipment/s. The PI must obtain prior
approval from ANRF to change the approved or sanctioned equipment.

[Refer ANRF OM ANRF/OM/N-01/2024 for details on overheads, travel and contingency]

3. In the case of proposals from National Research Laboratories and other

recognised research organisations, it is mandatory to have at least one Co-PI

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 from an academic institution. While the Co-PI can be from any academic
institution, considering Co-PIs from emerging or less endowed institutions will
be encouraged. This facilitates synergistic collaborations among the entities
involved.

4. National Research Laboratories (NRLs) and other recognized research

organisations shall contribute 50% of the non-recurring cost only of the portion
of the budget for their institutions. For projects with total outlay exceeding ₹ 1
Crore, 50% of the non-recurring expenses only in the portion of the budget for
those institutions shall be contributed by the National Research Laboratory or
recognized research organisation of the PI/Co-PI.
5. Applicants are encouraged to consult the Annexure for the list of Verticals for
the ARG Program. Applicants are welcome to submit proposals that align with
the objectives of the ARG Program and map it to the best Vertical. In the case
of inter-disciplinary proposals, the proposal may be submitted to the vertical
covering the primary discipline.

6. The upper limit for project funding under the ARG Program is ₹ 5 Crores. The
maximum tenure of the project is 5 years.

(G) Application, Evaluation, and Selection:

1. For this particular ARG Program CFP (Call for Proposals), due to the anticipation
of a very high number of submissions, a researcher is eligible to apply for at
most one proposal as a PI and at most one proposal as a Co-PI. This condition
is expected to be relaxed in future calls.

2. No technically rejected proposal should be resubmitted without substantial

revision to any program under ANRF.

3. An investigator in a PI or Co-PI role is allowed to hold at most four (4) ANRF-

funded or erstwhile SERB-funded individual-centric projects at any given time.
Note this condition does not apply for the investigator’s participation in ANRF
mission mode programs (eg: the investigator may be a PI or Co-PI in ANRF
MAHA missions, ANRF PAIR program etc. in addition to this limit).

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4. The CFP for the ARG Program will be notified through the website
"www.anrfonline.in". The research proposal should be submitted only through
the website "www.anrfonline.in." Proposals submitted through any other mode
will not be considered.

5. A compact pre-proposal (as per a prescribed format) needs to be submitted in

addition to the full proposal (along with all requisite documents) by the deadline.
Pre-proposals will be screened at level 1, and only the full proposals of the
short-listed pre-proposals will be reviewed further. The shortlisted full proposals
will be subjected to a rigorous assessment with the help of subject matter
experts at level 2. Applicant(s) of the full proposals that clear the review process
may be invited for a discussion/presentation.

6. Selection for funding will solely be on the basis of scientific merit of the proposal
and the evaluation criteria detailed out in section D. Larger value proposals
(exceeding ₹1 CR) will undergo another round of evaluation at level 3. In larger
collaborations or larger proposals, an even sharper focus will be placed on
evaluating quality, impact, potential outcomes, and quality, coherence and
integration of the collaboration team and interdisciplinary components.

(H) Transfer or Termination:

1. A PI who resigns from his/her host institution and seeks to transfer the project
to a different institution shall inform ANRF immediately, with a detailed
appropriate justification, for favour of consideration. The host institution shall
not incur any expenditure from the date of resignation of the PI. The host
institution shall arrange for the submission of all relevant documents.

2. ANRF reserves the right to terminate the project at any stage if it is convinced
that (i) inadequate progress is being made in the project; or (ii) the grant has
not been appropriately utilized; or (iii) false information has been furnished to
ANRF.

3. During the execution of the project, requests from a PI to transfer the project
from one institution to another institution within India, on account of career
growth will be favorably considered by ANRF, provided the intimation is obtained

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 well in advance, prior to moving from one institution to another. However,
investigators mentioned in Section C (5) of the eligibility criteria can apply for
transfer in the event of a shift from (a) Private/public/government institution to
any other private/public/government institution; or (ii) contingent on general
administrative transfers in government or public-funded institutions. In respect
of cases that are not mentioned above, ANRF reserves the right to allow or deny
the transfer of the project.

4. During the tenure of a sanctioned project, if the PI leaves the host institution
due to medical reasons, moves to another institution on lien, or superannuates
and is not officially appointed for an extended period and allowed to be a PI by
the host institution, the project may be transferred to a Co-PI from the same
host institution, provided that all other terms and conditions of the grant are
met. In respect of cases that are not mentioned above, ANRF reserves the right
to allow or deny the transfer of the project.

(I) Plagiarism: Proposals submitted must be original in ideation and content.

ANRF follows zero tolerance for plagiarism in any form. All submissions may
undergo a third-party plagiarism check and any proposal found to contain
plagiarised content will be rejected. Any form of text included verbatim from
another source must be identified using quotation marks, with an appropriate
citation (including use of AI tools). Applicants are strongly encouraged to pre-
check their proposals for plagiarism prior to submission in order to avoid rejections.

(J) Online Application:

For online submission of the research proposal, the following points may be noted:

1. Applicant should first register on the online website www.anrfonline.in click here
to register. Applicants who are registered with the SERBONLINE
portal(www.serbonline.in) may log in to anrfonline.in using the same
credentials.

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2. After the log-in, the applicant is required to fill-in all the mandatory fields in
Profile Detail section under User Profile which includes Bio-data, Photo,
Institution address, etc.

3. In respect of proposals having Co-PIs, it must be ensured that all the Co-PIs are
also registered in the ANRF system following steps 1 and 2 above.

4. Pre-proposal Submission: Pre-proposals and full proposals must be submitted

together on the same deadline. Pre-proposals are required to be submitted
following a standard web-based template on the portal.

Full Proposal Submission: Leading details of the full proposal such as Title;
Summary; Keywords; Objectives; Expected Outputs and Outcome; and
Proposed Budget have to be provided in the online web based template. Please
read the ANRF OM No. ANRF/OM/N-01/2024 dated 01.10.2024 before filling in
the details. The scientific part of the full proposal is to be uploaded as a single
PDF file with a limit of up to 15 pages (in 11 pt font), excluding references A
standard template and guidelines for preparation of the full proposals is
available for download from www.anrfonline.in.

(K) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. I wish to apply for a research grant under the ARG Program. What is the
maximum amount of the grant that will be funded?
The PI is expected to propose a realistic budget for the proposal as needed
for its successful implementation. The upper limit for project funding under
the ARG Program is ₹ 5 Crores for maximum period of 5 years. Proposals
larger than ₹ 1 crore will undergo another round of evaluation, and will
undergo deeper impact, technical and team scrutiny.
2. In how many project proposals can a researcher get involved as a PI,
Co-PI, or as an Honorary Investigator under the ARG Program?
For the current ARG call, a researcher can be concurrently involved in at
most one project proposal as a PI and at most one project as a Co-PI. There
is no limit on number of proposals where they are an Honorary Investigator

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 (subject to the time they need to devote to their primary PI or Co-PI
commitments). This condition on PIs and Co-PIs is imposed for this
particular call in anticipation of a large number of proposal submissions, and
will be relaxed in future calls.
3. Can the PI and Co-PIs belong to different institutions?
ANRF encourages multi-institutional participation and therefore the PIs and
Co-PIs can be from different institutions. The host institution of the PI
should make contingency arrangements for changeover of PI in case of
unforeseen event of discontinuance of PI.
4. Can a budget be provided separately to PI and Co-PIs in case of different
institutions?

Certainly. A separate budget can be provided to the institutions of the Co-

PIs (with a limit of up to two other institutions) if the work proposed requires
complementary expertise for its implementation.

5. Are there any priority research areas for support under the ARG
Program?
ARG is a broad-based funding program, where applicants are encouraged to
submit high quality proposals based upon their best ideas, rather than ANRF
directing them to priority research topics. The world’s major scientific
advances have often come from PIs proposing amazing ideas that change
the world. Applicants are welcome to submit proposals in related or
emerging topics that align with the objectives of the ARG Program.
6. Can a Co-PI be included after the Project has been launched?
It may be possible, under compelling reasons, to add a Co-PI after the
project has already been launched. This will be on the condition that no
separate budget allocation will be provided to the Co-PI being included. An
Honorary Investigator (eg: industry collaborator) may also be similarly
added.
7. Can investigators from private institutions or NGOs submit proposals
under this Program?

Yes. As per Section C (7), Private Academic institutions with valid UGC /
AICTE / PCI approval, private R&D Institutions with valid DSIR-SIRO
recognition, and voluntary and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

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registered under NITI-AAYOG Darpan portal are eligible to host a project,
i.e. investigators (PIs or Co-PIs) can submit proposals from these
institutions. They could also participate as Honorary Investigators without
funding, provided all the eligibility criteria specified by ANRF are fulfilled.

8. In the case of a multi-institution project, what is the role of the PI?

In the case of multiple institutions participating in a project, the PI and host
institution should take full technical and financial responsibility for
completing the project successfully in all respects including financial
closure. The PI and the administration of the host institution will be the point
of contact with ANRF.

ANRF is in the process of Ease of Doing Research (EoDR) transformations

to reduce the administrative and financial burden on PIs and Co-PIs; and
moving this responsibility operationally to the administration of the host
institution. This will allow PIs and Co-PIs to focus on technical
responsibility, impact, quality and outcomes. Till this transition is complete,
the responsibility is joint between the PI and the administration.

9. Can a topic other than those mentioned by ANRF under this program
be proposed?
Yes, a PI can submit proposals in topics other than those mentioned by
ANRF as per their field of expertise. The topics mentioned are suggestive
and not exhaustive. The proposal must be mapped to the Vertical that is a
best fit as the primary discipline.
10. Can a researcher, superannuating in three years, submit a project
of 3 years duration?
Yes. As per Section C 6 (b), such an individual can submit a proposal either
as a PI along with a co-PI who satisfies Section C 6 (a), or as a Co-PI, along
with a Co-PI who satisfies Section C 6 (a). The second individual meeting
Section C 6 (a) must have sufficient years of official service remaining (at
least 4 years for a 3-year proposal; and at least 6 years for a 5-year
proposal). If the super-annuating researcher is not appointed in a role with

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the privilege to be a PI, then the responsibility of the project transitions to
the Co-PI (who becomes the PI).
11. I am 61 years old at the time of submitting a 3 year ARG proposal.
Can the project be given extension without additional funds, when I
attain the age of 65 years and superannuate?
No. Since the ARG program normally invites proposals for up to a maximum
of five years duration and up to 65 years of age (whichever is earlier). Hence
the PI should plan to conclude the project within the sanctioned time limit.
ANRF reserves the right of decision in any other exceptional situation.
12. Is there any minimum number of disciplines required for the
proposal to be considered as interdisciplinary?
No. There is no such requirement of a minimum number of disciplines in an
interdisciplinary proposal. However, the proposal should address a research
question which requires a multidisciplinary team of researchers. The
proposal may be submitted to the Vertical that is the best fit as the primary
discipline.
13. Can researchers belonging to Industry, Start-ups be included as
technical collaborators without any financial obligation?
Certainly. Accomplished researchers from the above list of organisations re
welcome to be included as “Honorary Investigators” in the proposal, without
any budget allocation.
14. Will international collaborators be encouraged to contribute without
any financial obligations from either end?
Certainly. If accomplished international researchers wish to collaborate with
the PI/Co-PIs to contribute to the project, they are welcome, without any
financial obligation from ANRF.
15. Is a prior clearance (Ethical, biosafety, animal, humans, etc) required
at the time of submission of proposals?
The clearances may be submitted after approval of the proposal for funding.

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 ARG MATRICS

MATRICS is a part of Advanced Research Grant (ARG). It aims to provide fixed

small grant support to active researchers with strong credentials in Mathematical
Sciences, Theoretical Sciences, and Quantitative Social Sciences.

Scope:

• Mathematical Sciences (MS): Mathematical and allied areas

• Theoretical Sciences (TS): All areas of Science and Engineering (other than
mathematical and allied areas)

• Quantitative Social Sciences (QSS): Quantitative Social Sciences which

involves quantitative analysis using mathematical, statistical or
computational techniques in the areas of Social Sciences

Nature of Support:

Research grant of Rs. 5 lakh p.a. plus overheads for a period of up to five years.

Purpose for which grants can be used:

• Purchase of text books and monographs.

• Purchase of minor equipment such as workstation, laptop, etc.
• Purchase of software for research purposes.
• Travel support and payment of registration fee for invited talks or presenting
a paper in national and international conferences.
• Travel support for collaborative visits in India and abroad.
• Travel support and other logistics for inviting students and young
researchers for research activities.

Eligibility

Eligibility will be as per section C (1), (3), (4), (6) in public, private universities or
National Research Laboratories and other recognised research organisations in
India, with the following additional changes.

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 • The applicant should be an active researcher in the field of (i) Mathematical
Sciences and allied areas; (ii) Science and Engineering (excluding
mathematical sciences) or (iii) Social Sciences involving quantitative
analysis using mathematical, statistical and computational techniques.
Applications for MATRICS may be made to the relevant Verticals.
• An applicant is eligible to submit only one proposal during a call.
• Co-PIs are not allowed in the MATRICS program. For MATRICS, Section C
(1) is relaxed to allow OCI / PIO holders satisfying other conditions above
to apply without need for a Co-PI.
• There is no provision for extension of project duration.

MATRICS: Mode of Application and Selection:

The call for applications will be notified through the website www.anrfonline.in and
the proposal should be submitted online only at www.anrfonline.in.

The selection will be based on the recommendations of an Expert Committee

(formed from the relevant Vertical and Technical Program Committee) and the
criteria of consideration would be (1) Credentials of PI (2) Publications record and
(3) Mathematical/Theoretical content of the proposal in their respective area.

Applicants should first register in the online website, www.anrfonline.in. After

log-in applicants are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Details
Section under User Profile which includes Bio data (as per defined template),
Photo, Institute Address, etc.

Proposal submission should include Project Title (max 500 characters),

Mathematics review subject classification in case of MATRICS, Keywords (max
6), Project summary (max 3000 characters), etc.

Documents required (in PDF): (templates for some of these will be provided
online)

• Bio-data

• 1-2 page(s) project proposal

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• List of ten most significant publications

• List of all publications in the last five years

• Certificate from Principal Investigator

• Endorsement Letter from the Head of Institution

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 Annexure: Advanced Research Grant (ARG) Verticals

Sl. No. Vertical under ARG

1. Chemical Sciences – I (Inorganic and Physical Chemistry)

2. Chemical Sciences – II (Organic Chemistry)

3. Animal Sciences

4. Plant Sciences

5. Biomedical and Health Sciences

6. Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences

7. Mathematical Sciences

8. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

9. Physical Sciences – I (CMP and MS)

10. Physical Sciences – II (PHENNA – LOAMP)

11. Chemical & Environmental Engineering

12. Civil, Infrastructure and Transportation Engineering

13. Materials, Mining and Minerals Engineering

14. Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace Engineering and Robotics

15. Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering

16. Quantitative Social Sciences

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