MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES
(DR. JITENDRA SINGH)
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(a) The salient features of Kishore Vaigyanik Prostahan Yojana (KVPY) along with its aims and objectives are: to identify students with talent and aptitude for research; help them to realize their academic potentials, encourage them to take up research careers in science and ensure growth of best scientific minds for research and development in the country. KVPY Fellows can avail fellowship for a maximum period of 5 years at any educational institution in India, provided they pursue a graduation/post-graduation course in Basic Science areas. The KVPY program of Ministry of Science and Technology was incepted in 1999 and implemented by Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) Bengaluru. The KVPY fellows are given preference for admission in the premier institutions in the country which enables them to pursue an academic/research career in Basic Science areas.
(b) The number of youths encouraged under the KVPY in Tamil Nadu during each of the last three years are as follows:
Year Number of KVPY Fellowships offered
2018 116
2019 136
2020 150
(c) No Sir.
(d) Government is achieving the objectives for which Kishore Vaigyanik Prostahan Yojana (KVPY) was launched. Starting from a small number of 1000 applications received in the year 1999, the number has increased to 1.56 lakh applications during the year 2020 which is an indicator of popularity and success of the program. Identification and encouragement of talented students having aptitude for research by providing fellowship is major aim of KVPY. Most of the KVPY fellows join the premier institutions in the country viz. Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISERs), National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISERs) etc. where they get into the research mode from undergraduate level itself. After their graduation, students have proceeded for higher studies including PhD programme in the reputed universities/institutes in the country and abroad. Many KVPY fellows have been occupying important academic/scientific positions in Indian/Foreign institutions. This indicates the wide reach of the KVPY yojana to National and International Scientific community. Till date more than 5000 students have availed the benefit under this program.
(e) The details of funds sanctioned/utilized by the Government under this Yojana during the last three years are as follows:
Financial Year Funds Sanctioned (Lakh) Funds Utilized (Lakh)
2018-19 1344.96 1049.11
2019-20 1734.45 1281.30
2020-21 2071.07 1505.16
(f) Several other steps have been taken by the Government to identify students with talent and aptitude for research and nurture them in the field of science. Department of Science and Technology (DST) is implementing “Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)” to attract, motivate, nurture and train talented and meritorious students to study science subjects and opt for careers in Research and Development (R&D) to build a pipeline of quality human resource, thereby widening the R&D human resource base of the country. Every year, INSPIRE scheme offers 1,00,000 Awards to the young students of class 6th -10th under the INSPIRE Award MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge), opportunity to 50,000 students to experience the joys of creative pursuit of science under the INSPIRE Internship, 12,000 Scholarships to the students who are within top 1% of Class 12th Board examinations under the Scholarships For Higher Education (SHE) to pursue B.Sc. and M.Sc. courses in Basic and Natural Sciences, 1000 INSPIRE Fellowships for pursuing Ph.D. degree and 100 INSPIRE Faculty Fellowships to establish themselves as independent post-doctoral researchers.
Since 1993, DST has been organizing National Children’s Science Congress which aims to nurture the children, in the age group of 10-17 years into the process of learning science by doing innovative projects. The children pick up innovative projects in the focal theme area and try to solve a community problem. The hands-on and research-based activities lead to development of interest in science.
The Initiative in Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), is a program which scouts for the students to do research-based projects in field of STEM education. The 20 best projects are awarded in National IRIS Fair and form Team India to represent the country in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held each year in the United States of America (USA).
Additionally, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) with support from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Dept. of Science & Technology, Department of Space, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Earth Sciences, implements National Olympiad programmes in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, Earth Sciences, and Junior Science. The programme comprises of multi-level competitions for secondary and higher secondary level students, culminating in the participation of Indian teams in International Olympiads held annually in the respective subjects. The programme has been running successfully for more than 20 years with a total enrollment of nearly 350,000 students for the first level of the competitions every year. Indian students have consistently performed excellently at the international Olympiads, with a nearly 100% strike rate of medals, including a large number of the coveted gold medals.
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