Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC)

The Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), an initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between top ranked Indian Institutions and globally ranked Foreign Institutions, through Joint Research Projects involving mobility of students and faculty. The SPARC Scheme is expected to have a major impact in providing the best international expertise to address major national problems, expose Indian academicians to the best collaborators abroad, enable international faculty to stay in India for a longer duration, provide Indian students an opportunity to work in the world class laboratories, to develop strong bilateral relationships in research, and improve the international ranking of Indian Institutions.

28 Countries have been identified for collaboration in the first phase of SPARC. There will be a set of Nodal Institutions (NI) in India, one for each participating foreign country, who will be responsible for hand holding, guiding Indian institutes and coordination of activities between the participating Indian Institutions in India and the respective foreign country as well as act as the liaision with the SPARC teams.

Eligibility: All Indian Institutions ranked in the overall top-100 or category-wise top-100 in the India Rankings (NIRF-2019) are eligible to apply. The partner Foreign Institution shall be in the top-500 QS World University Ranking or in the top-200 QS World University Ranking by subject to be eligible to be supported under SPARC. The project team should contain at least two international Faculty members, two Indian Faculty members and two Researchers pursuing PhD or post-doc level from each side.

Duration and Funding: The proposal will be for a period of two years. The budget can be in any one of the three baskets

• Up to ₹ 50 lakhs
• From ₹ 50 lakhs up to ₹ 75 lakhs
• From ₹ 75 lakhs up to ₹ 100 lakhs

Proposals which have longer time visits of foreign faculty will be given priority for larger sized baskets.

Funding details:

• For a visit of foreign faculty ranging from 1 to 4 - months, payment will be made up to US$ 15,000/- for the first month and US$ 10,000/- thereafter including honorarium, travel, stay, etc. Usually, the honorarium of foreign faculty is approx $333 per day.
• For the visit of a foreign postdoctoral/doctoral scholar, the host Institute will provide suitable free accommodation and an out-of-pocket allowance of ₹ 12,000 per month subject to an upper limit of ₹ 2 lakhs over the duration of the project. The student has to stay for a minimum period of 3 months and register as a visiting foreign student. Tuition fees will be waived by the Indian Institution. Usually, the out-of-pocket allowance for a foreign student is Rs 400 per day.
• For the visit of an Indian student to the Foreign Institution, payment will be made up to US$ 2000 for travel and $1000 per month for out-of-pocket allowances. Usually, the out-of-pocket allowance for an Indian student is approx. $33 per day. For more info

VISAThe foreign academicians/experts/faculty visiting India under SPARC should apply for Research VISA.
Contact Details:
SPARC Cell
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur 721302
West Bengal, INDIA
Email: support@sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Website: http://sparc.iitkgp.ac.in

VISITING ADVANCED JOINT RESEARCH FACULTY SCHEME (VAJRA)

VAJRA (Visiting Advanced Joint Research) Faculty Scheme is a dedicated program exclusively for overseas scientists and academicians with emphasis on Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) / Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to work as adjunct / visiting faculty for a specific period of time in Indian Public funded academic and research institutions. The Scheme recognizes the value of collaborative research as a crucial element for information sharing among researchers for updating and acquiring knowledge and skills, and also to draw different perspectives to solve a shared problem. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) welcomes accomplished Overseas Scientists to take up challenging research problems in the Indian setting.

Eligibility & Funding: The eligibility conditions are:

• The scheme is open to overseas scientists / faculty /R&D professionals including Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) / Overseas Citizen of India (OCI).
• Should be an active researcher working with overseas academic / research / industrial organizations with a proven track record of research and development. /li>

The Faculty will work for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months a year in an institution in India. It is expected that the Indian Host Institution may engage him/her for a longer duration even after the completion of the assignment. The adjunct position will be offered initially for a period of 1 year, and can be renewed every year.

The VAJRA Faculty will be provided a lump-sum amount of US $ 15000 in the first month of engagement in a year and US $ 10000 pm in the other two months to cover their travel and honorarium. While no separate support is provided for e.g. accommodation, medical / personal insurance etc. the host institute may consider providing additional support. The payment to the faculty will be made in Indian Rupees.

For more information please visit https://vajra-india.in/

Visa Guidelines: All foreign nationals entering India are required to possess a valid international travel document in the form of a national passport with a valid visa obtained from an Indian Mission or Post abroad. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has advised that if the period of stay is up to 3 months at a time, no registration is required with the FRROs/FROs. However, if the faculty is engaged for a duration exceeding 180 days, then registration may be as per the requirement of the Employment Visa regime.

The foreign academicians/experts/faculty visiting India under VAJRA should apply for Research VISA.

Contact Details:
Dr. Praveenkumar S, Programme Coordinator
Science and Engineering Research Board
5 & 5A, Lower Ground Floor
Vasant Square Mall Sector-B, Pocket-5 Vasant Kunj
New Delhi-110070
Phone: 011 2659 0353
Tele fax: 011 2696 3695
Email: praveen@nic.in

Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN)

Union Cabinet, Govt. of India has approved a programme titled Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN) in Higher Education aimed at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs internationally to encourage their engagement with the institutes of Higher Education in India so as to augment the country's existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reform, and elevate India's scientific and technological capacity to global excellence. GIAN is envisaged to catalyse higher education institutions in the country, and that it will initially include all IITs, IIMs, Central Universities, IISc Bangalore, IISERs, NITs and IIITs subsequently cover good State Universities where the spinoff is vast. GIAN is an evolving scheme which will initially include participation of foreign faculty in Institutes as Distinguished / Adjunct / Visiting faculty / Professors of Practice, etc., to participate in delivering Short or Semester-long Courses.

Funding: A lump-sum amount of upto US$ 8000 for 12 to 14 hours of contact and upto US$ 12000 for 20 to 28 hours of contact can be paid to the foreign experts covering their travel and honorarium. Local hospitality will be arranged by the Host Institution. The duration (number of weeks/days) can be mutually decided by the host institution and the visiting faculty.

For more information please visit https://gian.iitkgp.ac.in/

Visa: The foreign academicians/experts/faculty visiting India under GIAN should apply for VISA for at least one month (preferably 2 months) before the scheduled departure as per following guidelines:

Visa Type: Business VISA

Contact Details:
The National Coordinator, GIAN, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Kharagpur – 721302, West Bengal, India
Email: gian@iitkgp.ac.in