News Excerpt: 

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) on Tuesday announced the first batch of Fellows of the Vaibhav scheme meant to attract Indian-origin scientists based abroad for short-term collaboration.

Objective:

• The VAIBHAV Fellowship aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s Higher Educational and Scientific Institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world through mobility of faculty/researchers from overseas institutions to India. 

Eligibility: (for Scientists)

1. The applicant should be Non-Resident Indian (NRI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), currently living abroad.
2. The applicant must have obtained a Ph.D/M.D/M.S degree from a recognized University.
3. Applicant must be a researcher engaged in an overseas academic / research / industrial organization with proven track record of research & development working in the top500 QS World University Ranking.
4. Plan to pursue research work for a minimum of 1 month to a maximum of 2 months a year in a research institution / academic institution in India, spread over 3 years.
5. Applicants can submit their proposal only once in a calendar year.

Eligibility: (for Institutions)

• Higher Educational Institutions / University ranked in top 200 in National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) overall rankings and having National Assessment Accreditation Council (NAAC) ‘A” grade (3.0 and above) and scientific institutes. 

About the Vaibhav Scheme:

• The scheme is meant to facilitate meaningful collaboration, and potentially attract diaspora scientists to work in India.
• VAIBHAV fellowship programme is implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology.
• Details of the scheme:
  • Twenty-two scientists, mostly based in North American and European institutes such as the California Institute of Technology, the University of Oxford, the University of Michigan, the University of Geneva, the University of Waterloo, Canada, and the University of Oslo, will spend anywhere from a month or two annually for a maximum of three years at Indian institutes such as the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Science, Education and Research, and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
  • Those selected will get a stipend of ₹4 lakh a month and accommodation. 
  • The host institutions will get a research grant to enable them to host the fellows. 
• The fellows are expected to begin a project, technology start-up, within three years along with the host institute, build long-term research connections with the institute, collaborate with the host faculty and bring in new ideas to the field in Indian universities and research settings.
• The scheme, first set in motion in June 2023 to involve the Indian diaspora more closely to further India’s development, bears striking similarities to another scheme, called Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty (Vajra) scheme, initiated in 2018.
• Both schemes would continue as they had different objectives. “Vajra was open to all foreign scientists, whereas Vaibhav is exclusively for the Indian diaspora.

Conclusion: 

The Vaibhav Scheme by DST encourages collaboration between Indian-origin scientists abroad and leading Indian institutions to boost the country's research environment. It leverages diaspora expertise for meaningful contributions to India's scientific and academic progress.