Government believes in the principle of freedom in research: Not issued any directive to restrict choice of subjects for research: MHRD

Human Resource Development Ministry on Monday clarified that it has not issued any directive to restrict the choice of subjects for research, as reported in a section of media. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, in a statement, said that the Government believes in the principle of freedom in research.

“Last year, there was a meeting of Vice Chancellors of 11 Central Universities, which were lacking in research. In the said meeting they presented a road map to improve research and also discussed the issue of more research on issues relating to national priorities. The minutes of the meeting were recorded,” the statement said.

“The Government has given impetus to improve and expand research facilities. The Government has provided Rs 480 crore for Social Science Research Project under Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences (IMPRESS); Rs 225 Crore for research in basic sciences; Rs 1000 crore under Impacting Research, Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) for technology-related research; Rs 450 crore under STRIDE for research in Humanities; and Rs 480 crore under Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) for joint research with foreign universities in any discipline,” the statement added.