INSPIRE SCHEME (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research)
“Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)” is an innovative programme sponsored and managed by the Department of Science & Technology for attraction of talent to Science.
Vision Buildthe critical human resource pool to strengthen the science and technology system and expand R&D base of the country.
Goal Attract Young Talent to opt research as a career.A striking feature of INSPIRE Scheme is that it does not conductany competitive exam(s) for identification of talent at any level. It relies on the efficacy of the existing educational structure for identification of talent.
Scope Covers the entire meritorious youth who is interested to study science right from school to college and university level and choose scientific research as a career.It carries out enabling activities of human capacity building including scholarships and fellowships, research exposure training of human resources.
Objectives The basic objective of the ‘Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)’ scheme is to communicate to the youth the excitement of pursuing science.INSPIRE attracts and nurtures young bright students to study basic and natural sciences at the college and university level and to pursue research careers in both basic and applied science areas including engineering, medicine, agriculture and veterinary sciences. The same is done through the following components:
- INSPIRE INTERNSHIP aims to provide exposure to the top 1% students at Class X Board level by organizing Science Camps either during summer or winter which provides opportunity to them to interact with Science icons from India and abroad, including Nobel Laureates, to experience the joys of scientific pursuit. These science camps nourish the curiosity of students in science, help them to think out-of-the box and attract students at an early age of 16-17 years to choose science subjects for further studies.
- SCHOLARSHIP for HIGHER EDUCATION (SHE) component of the INSPIRE aims to encourage meritorious students to study basic and natural sciences at undergraduate level through attractive scholarship and mentorship opportunities. SHE offers 12,000 scholarships every year to meritorious students in the age group 17-22 years.
- INSPIRE FELLOWSHIP component offers 1000 Fellowships every year to bright students in the age group of 22-27 years to pursue Ph.D. in basic and applied sciences including engineering, medicine, agriculture and veterinary sciences.
- INSPIRE FACULTY FELLOWSHIP component provides opportunities to 100 persons every year with Ph.D. qualification in the age group of 27-32 years for 5 years to carry out research in both basic and applied science areas including engineering, medicine, agriculture and veterinary sciences for establishing themselves as independent researchers. It grants an attractive fellowship for a duration of 5 years.
INSPIRE Components Details:
| Scheme Component | Target Group | Target Age Group | Target Number | Aim |
| INSPIRE Internship | Top 1% students in Class X Boards | 16-17 years | 50,000 | To expose students to joys of creative science during 5-day camps through lectures by experts, innovative experiments etc. |
| Scholarship For Higher Education (SHE) | Top 1% students in Class XII Boards + top 10000 performers in IIT-JEE + other national exams | 17-22 years | 12,000 | To encourage meritorious students to study B.Sc. & M.Sc. (basic and natural sciences) by providing scholarship (Rs. 60,000/- p.a.) and mentorship grant (Rs. 20,000/- p.a.) |
| INSPIRE Fellowship | INSPIRE-SHE Scholars with 70% marks in M.Sc. + M.Sc. Toppers with min 70% marks | 22-27 years | 1000 | To encourage students to pursue Ph.D. in areas of S&T, Medicine, Agriculture, Pharmacy and Veterinary Sciences |
| INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship | Ph.D. | 27-32 years | 100 | To encourage young researchers to continue research in areas of S&T, Medicine, Agriculture, Pharmacy and Veterinary Sciences. |
INSPIRE Scheme Implementation:
Implementation of INSPIRE Scheme is a fully automated process through INSPIRE Web-portal. Link for INSPIRE Web-portal is: https://www.online-inspire.gov.in
Applicationsunder above INSPIRE components are entertained only against specific call announcements in online mode. Advertisement under a INSPIRE component covers eligibility criteria, how to apply, documents required along with application, instructions for filling online application etc. On INSPIRE Web-portal component-wise detailed information has been made available which includes Guidelines, Formats and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Research Exposure Training Programme for Students of NE and J&K and Ladakh:
To promote research culture among students pursuing post-graduation courses in various science and technology streams in North-Eastern States and UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, a special Initiative under the “Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)” scheme of Department of Science and Technology (DST) has been taken. It is the need of hour to interact with these young minds at Masters’ level and imbibe culture of research in them to pursue career in scientific research and development. The initiative was launched in the year 2022 as pilot phase which is nearing completion.
“Research Exposure cum Training Programme for Students from North- Eastern States and UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh” focuses on providing training to the talented youth from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura (North-Eastern States), UT’s of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for pursuing research career in frontier areas of Science Technology and Innovation.
This being a new and special initiative, it is being implemented on pilot scale in first phase. Details of the programme are available on INSPIRE Web-portal including Guidelines and format for submission of project proposal etc.(https://www.online-inspire.gov.in).
INSPIRE Division Team
| SI. No. | Name of Officer | Designation | Phone No. | Office | |
| 1. | Ms. Namita Gupta | Adviser/ Scientist –G and Head | 011-26590371 | 110 First Floor, New Building | namita[at]nic[dot]in |
| 2. | Dr. Umesh Kumar Sharma | Sc.-F | 011-26590 680 | 118 First Floor, New Building | uk[dot]sharma[at]nic[dot]in |
| 3. | Dr. Bipin Joshi | Sc.-F | 011-26590214 | 109 First Floor, New Building | bipin[dot]joshi[at]nic[dot]in |
| 4. | Dr. Sucheta De Mondal | Sc.-D | 011-26590221 | 112 First Floor, New Building | sucheta[dot]mondal[at]gov[dot]in |
| 5. | Dr. Tamanna Arora | Sc.-C | 011-26590274 | 114 First Floor, New Building | tamanna[dot]arora[at]gov[dot]in |
| 6. | Dr. Remya N. | Sc.-C | 011-26590494 | 109 First Floor, New Building | remya[dot]n[at]gov[dot]in |
| 7. | Dr. S. M. Babu | Sc.-C | 011-26590 268 | 121 First Floor, New Building | sm[dot]babu[at]gov[dot]in |
| 8. | Dr. Ruckmani Arunachalam | Sc.-B | 011-26590488 | 122 First Floor, New Building | ruckmani[dot]a[at]nic[dot]in |
| 9. | Mr. Sunit Minz | Sc.-B | 011-26590 417 | 128 First Floor, New Building | sunit[at]nic[dot]in |
| 10. | Mr. Kunal Sharma | Sc.-B | 011-26590494 | 104 First Floor, New Building | sharma[dot]kunal[at]gov[dot]in |
| 11. | Mr. Manish Kumar | JTA | 011-26590305 | Room No. 5 Opp. Old Canteen | manish[dot]kr89[at]nic[dot]in |
