Chicago – June 27, 2025
Several high-profile reports reveal that India’s central government under Prime Minister Modi has significantly delayed or cut research funding, especially fellowships and stipends for researchers at premier institutions like the IITs.
Women-specific funding schemes like WoS‑A and WISE‑KIRAN haven’t received releases for over seven months, stalling crucial STEM projects and leaving beneficiaries unpaid since April 2024.
Minority scholars under the MANF programme are facing six-month delays in payments, with many waiting since late 2024; their allowances and house rent support remain unresolved debates.
While the government claims to have doubled R&D spending (from ₹600 billion to ₹1,250 billion) and increased patent filings, nearly 70% of DST’s budget now goes to interest‑free loans for private companies, not to public academic research.
Opposition voices—even Congress leaders—have accused the Modi administration of being “hell‑bent on killing scientific research,” noting the lack of grant releases, delayed staff salaries, project halts, and centralized funding oversight via the NRF whose actual disbursements remain far below promises.
India’s central government under Prime Minister Modi has significantly delayed or cut research funding.
