MHRD Approves 122 New Research Projects under IMPRINT-II
For the second phase of the IMPRINT, the government has released a grant of Rs.1000 crore. The initiative is first of its kind by MHRD to promote research and innovation.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has approved 122 new research projects at a cost of Rs. 112 crore under IMPRINT-II initiative or scheme. The new projects have been approved in diverse areas including Healthcare, Security/ Defence, ICT, Advanced Materials, Energy etc. The ministry received 2,145 proposals under IMPRINT-II and the high-level committee of the ministry shortlisted 122 best proposals among them. Out of 122 approved projects, 81 are sponsored by industry.
IMPRINT-II New Research Projects Approved by MHRD:
| Name of the Domain/ Sector | Total No. of Projects Approved |
| ICT | 35 |
| Advanced Materials | 18 |
| Healthcare Technology | 17 |
| Energy Security | 12 |
| Security & Defence | 11 |
| Sustainable Habitat | 09 |
| Water Resource and River Systems | 07 |
| Environment & Climate | 05 |
| Manufacturing | 04 |
| Nano Technology | 04 |
About IMPRINT Phase - II
In March 2018, the HRD Ministry declared the launch of phase 2 of Impacting Research Innovation and Technology - IMPRINT. The government has released a grant of Rs.1000 crore for the 2nd phase of IMPRINT. This initiative is first of its kind by MHRD as it is a PAN-IIT + IISc joint initiative. IMPRINT is not only about development of new engineering education policy but also plays a big role in creating a roadmap to pursue new engineering challenges.
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Prakash Javadekar, MHRD Minister mentioned about his vision and thoughts to encourage and innovation and research in the country in a series of his tweets. For the second phase of IMPRINT a grant of Rs. 1000 crore has been sanctioned for the research in the arena of Science and Technology for the next two years. Phase 2 will cover mainly 10 domain areas and which research proposals will be accepted from students, faculties, researchers and scholars. The invite date for the proposal is 16 March 2018 and the same will be sanctioned by May 2018.
Various central government ministries are coming together as a part of IMPRINT initiative. The main agenda of the initiative is to promote research and innovation across the country in the field of science technology so that we are at par with other nations.
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The second phase will comprise 10 different domain and research proposals will be invited for these from professionals, students, faculties and researchers. The proposals will be called from March 16 and will be sanctioned by May 2018. According to the official website, around 25 ministries have signed a MoU to promote innovation. IMPRINT now has funding from around 25 ministries, councils and departments of the Central Government.