The Centre’s move to cancel a call for proposals under the Department of Science and Technology (DST)’s SATHI programme has sparked fears among higher education institutions of shrinking funding sources to procure sophisticated, high-end equipment that are vital for research and development.
A section of the academic community suspect the move to be a precursor to the introduction of the National Research Foundation (NRF), which will rely heavily on the private sector for investments to fund research.
SATHI (acronym for Sophisticated Analytical and Technical Help Institutes) scheme was launched in 2020 with the prime goal of establishing centres to house major analytical instruments that can be shared among institutions, while “reaching out to less endowed organisations”. DST mooted a consortium mode of approach involving clusters of a lead organisation hosting all equipment and at least four partner organisations.
