CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -NRF will be under Science & Technology Ministry. The proposal to set up NRF was proposed in the Union Budget of 2019-20, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said, “We propose to establish a National Research Foundation to fund, coordinate and promote research in the country.

Detailed explanation-2: -NRF aims to enable research and innovation across institutions, beyond the IITs, IISERs and central universities. Less than 1% of 40, 000 higher education institutions are involved in research.

Detailed explanation-3: -Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first mooted setting up the NRF in his address to the Indian Science Congress in January 2019 and it found a mention in the Union Budget that year. In 2021, the finance minister proposed an outlay of Rs 50, 000 crore over a period of five years for the NRF.

Detailed explanation-4: -The government has begun the process of setting up the National Research Foundation (NRF), proposed in the 2019 budget. NRF has a big task of creating an ecosystem for R&D and innovation that is decentralised and open within the country.