Chandigarh, July 23 (IANS) In a landmark move to strengthen the research and innovation ecosystem in Haryana, the state government has established the Haryana State Research and Innovation Fund (HSRF) with a budget allocation of Rs 20 crore for this fiscal.

Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to finalise a comprehensive list of research projects to be undertaken by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) under the fund.

He emphasised that research should not remain confined to academic discourse but must address the real needs of governance, service delivery, and regional development.

“Departments must take this opportunity to identify practical and scalable issues, whether related to education, health, agriculture, environment, industry, or urban services, and convert them into research questions that can be explored in collaboration with universities. Our aim is to produce research that leads to better outcomes for people,” he said.

The Chief Secretary said as per directions of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Administrative Secretaries should identify research topics related to their departments, focusing on areas where research could help improve public services and quality of life.

The Chief Secretary told the departments to submit their research topics to the Higher Education Department by August 15.

During the meeting, it was informed that the Haryana State Higher Education Council (HSHEC) has been designated as the nodal agency to manage the entire process, from inviting proposals and evaluating them to monitoring project progress and assessing outcomes.

According to Additional Chief Secretary (Higher Education) Vineet Garg, under the scheme, faculty members will be eligible for grants of up to Rs 50 lakh per project, while students, including undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral scholars, can receive up to Rs 5 lakh, provided they are guided by an eligible supervisor.

The number of projects awarded each year will be based on the annual budget allocation

–IANS

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