Amid US higher education developments, plans afoot to attract Indian-origin researchers settled abroad

New Delhi, Oct 22 (PTI) The government's plan to get Indian-origin faculty or researchers settled abroad to return and teach or conduct research at Indian institutions is gaining momentum, according to sources.

While a similar plan has been considered in the past, it has been hit by several roadblocks, including procedural delays and uncertainties.

The plan is being considered afresh against the backdrop of the recent developments in the United States, where most of these faculty members or scientists are employed.

According to the sources, a scheme is being designed in consultation with ministries of Education and Science and Technology with an aim to bring back established Indian-origin scientists and researchers with significant academic work to their credit who are willing to spend a defined period in India to pursue research or teach.

"The IITs have already been trying to attract reputed foreign faculty, including Indian-origin ones who are now settled abroad or have their major body of work there," a source said.

Earlier this month, the White House asked at least nine US universities to sign an agreement pledging to uphold the Donald Trump administration's higher education priorities or risk losing out on preferred access to federal funding.

At the same time, top universities such as Harvard University have had billions of dollars in federal grants frozen as part of demands to overhaul admissions, governance and faculty policies — actions critics say amount to coercive suppression of institutional independence.

At present, the Ministry of Science and Technology runs Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Faculty Scheme to bring back overseas scientists and academicians, including Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), to work in public funded institutions and universities for a specific period of time.

The Ramanujan Fellowship provides attractive avenues and opportunities to Indian researchers of high calibre living abroad to work in Indian institutes and universities in all areas of science, engineering and medicine.

Also, the Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP) provides an opportunity to early, intermediate and senior level researchers to establish their research and academic career in basic biomedical or clinical and public health in India. These fellowships are open to all eligible researchers who wish to relocate or continue to work in India.

In 2015, the Bengaluru government cleared a "Welcome Home proposal" to bring back scholars and professors settled in universities and institutions abroad to ensure jobs in Karnataka-run universities and colleges for Indian-origin scientists, research scholars and professors if they return to the state. PTI GJS DIV DIV