How we can bring our scientists back home

Syllabus: GS2/Issues Related To Education; GS3/S&T 

Context

• India’s announcement to bring back around 120 Indian scientists under the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme currently working overseas. It raises deeper questions about India’s research ecosystem and empowering high-quality work.
• India loses talent due to heavy teaching loads, administrative burdens, short-term funding, and instability in universities which push researchers abroad for better support and freedom.

About the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme

• It aims to strengthen India’s research and innovation ecosystem by attracting distinguished Indian researchers working abroad back to the country. 
• The broader objective is to enhance India’s global research standing, promote high-impact research, and improve mentoring for young researchers.
• Key Objectives:
  • Reverse brain drain by encouraging leading Indian-origin scientists to return;
  • Strengthen research capacity in premier institutions;
  • Promote cutting-edge and nationally relevant research;
  • Mentor Ph.D. scholars and early-career researchers;
  • Build long-term academic leadership within Indian institutions;
• Nature of the Research Chair: PMRC positions are prestigious, time-bound appointments.
  • Chairholders are expected to lead high-quality research programmes, build and guide research teams, collaborate nationally and internationally, and contribute to capacity building and institutional development.
• Funding and Support: Support generally includes research grants, infrastructure access, and personnel support;
  • Funding is expected to be centrally supported and aligned with national research priorities
• Implementation and Governance: The scheme is administered by the Government of India, with oversight by relevant ministries and expert committees;
  • Final guidelines, eligibility conditions, tenure, and selection processes are notified through official government orders;

Key Issues and Concerns in PMRC Scheme

• Focus on Individuals Over Institutions: The PMRC scheme primarily targets the return of a limited number of high-profile scientists.
  • Research quality depends far more on institutional ecosystems i.e. labs, research staff, funding stability, and administrative autonomy.
• Limited Scale Relative to the Problem: India’s research talent outflow involves thousands of early and mid-career researchers, not just senior scientists.
  • Bringing back around 120 researchers is too small an intervention to reverse systemic brain drain or significantly reshape the research landscape.
• Over-Concentration in Elite Institutions: The scheme is largely centred on IITs, which already receive a disproportionate share of research funding.
  • State universities remain underfunded and heavily regulated, where most Indian students are trained.
• Weak Support for Research Teams: High-impact research is collaborative. However:
  • Postdoctoral positions in India are few, poorly paid, and insecure;
  • Technical and administrative research staff are limited;
• Short-Term and Uncertain Funding: If PMRC funding is time-bound, bureaucratically complex, and not assured over long horizons, then researchers may hesitate to undertake high-risk, long-term projects, undermining the very innovation the scheme aims to encourage.
• Administrative and Regulatory Constraints: Indian universities are often characterised by heavy bureaucratic oversight, limited autonomy in hiring and spending, and delays in procurement and approvals.
  • Returning researchers accustomed to flexible systems abroad may find these constraints deeply frustrating, reducing effectiveness and long-term commitment.
• Neglect of Early-Career Researchers: The success of any research ecosystem depends on Ph.D. scholars and postdoctoral fellows. But, stipends remain low relative to living costs, career paths are uncertain, and mentorship quality is uneven.
  • Without improving conditions for young researchers, elite chairs risk becoming isolated islands of excellence.
• Risk of Symbolism Over Structural Reform: There is a broader fear that PMRC could become a symbolic gesture like high visibility, low systemic impact.

Other Related Efforts & Initiatives

• Ramanujan Fellowship: Implemented by SERB / DST; Targets mid-career Indian scientists abroad;
  • Competitive salary, research grants, and institutional flexibility;
• VAJRA (Visiting Advanced Joint Research) Faculty Scheme: Enables short- and medium-term visits by overseas scientists;
  • Encourages collaboration without requiring permanent relocation;
• Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN): Brings international and diaspora faculty to teach and collaborate;
  • Focus on exposure of Indian students to global research practices;
• Proposed National Research Foundation (NRF): Envisioned as a central pillar of India’s research funding system;
  • Long-term, competitive, peer-reviewed funding across disciplines;
  • Strong focus on universities beyond elite institutions;
• Institutions of Eminence (IoE) Scheme: Grants selected institutions greater autonomy and funding;
  • Aims to build globally competitive universities;
• INSPIRE Programme: Supports students from school to postdoctoral levels; Focus on early identification and nurturing of research talent.
• Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF): High-value fellowships for Ph.D. students in STEM;
  • Aimed at attracting top talent into doctoral research in India;
• National Education Policy (NEP) 2020: Emphasises research-led universities; interdisciplinary education; reduced regulatory burden; and advocates creation of research-intensive universities.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): Promotes research translation, startups, and innovation; Supports incubation centres and research entrepreneurship;

Key Recommendations & Suggestions

• Strengthen Research Institutions Systemically: Invest in long-term institutional capacity, not just flagship schemes;
  • Prioritise laboratories, shared facilities, research staff, and maintenance;
  • Ensure continuity of funding beyond individual tenures
• Expand Beyond Elite Institutions: Allocate dedicated research funding to State universities;
  • Reduce over-centralised regulation and allow differentiated missions;
  • Support regionally relevant research aligned with local challenges;
• Provide Long-Term, Predictable Research Funding: Move from short-term grants to 5–10 year funding horizons;
  • Encourage risk-taking and foundational research;
  • Reduce excessive reporting and compliance burdens;
• Create Robust Postdoctoral and Research Staff Positions: Expand well-paid, multi-year postdoctoral fellowships;
  • Professionalise research support roles (lab managers, technicians);
  • Enable portability of grants and positions across institutions;
• Enable Retention, Not Just Return: Guarantee academic freedom and intellectual autonomy;
  • Provide clarity on tenure, evaluation, and promotion criteria;
  • Support spousal employment, housing, and relocation needs;
• Reduce Administrative and Bureaucratic Constraints: Delegate financial and hiring powers to institutions;
  • Simplify procurement and project approval processes;
  • Shift from control-based oversight to outcome-based accountability;
• Promote ‘Brain Circulation’ Alongside Return: Support joint appointments, visiting chairs, and remote collaboration;
  • Enable diaspora-led research consortia and mentorship networks;
  • Simplify rules for cross-border funding and collaboration;

Other Reforms Needed

• For Higher Education & Research Systems: Substantially increase public R&D spending (India remains below 1% of GDP, compared to 2–3% in brain-gain countries).
  • Grant institutional autonomy in hiring, pay scales, and research agendas.
  • Create transparent, tenure-track–like systems with internationally comparable evaluation norms.
  • Reduce administrative burden on scientists and faculty.
• Governance Reform: Enforce merit-based recruitment and promotion across public universities, research bodies, and state institutions.
  • Strengthen judicial efficiency, contract enforcement, and regulatory clarity.
  • Decouple academic and scientific leadership positions from political influence.
• Competitive Research & Innovation Ecosystems: Build dense university–industry–startup linkages.
  • Expand mission-driven research funding (health, climate, AI, materials).
  • Improve intellectual property protection and technology-transfer offices.
  • Enable mobility between academia, industry, and government labs.
• Diaspora-centric ‘Circulation’ Policies: Long-term visiting professorships, joint labs, and dual appointments.
  • Simplified procedures for diaspora scientists to lead projects in India.
  • Recognition of foreign experience in seniority and pay.
  • Institutionalized diaspora advisory councils in science and technology.
• Sector-specific Reforms:
  • Healthcare: Better working conditions, safety, postgraduate seats, and research pathways.
  • STEM: Early-career grants, independence for young investigators, access to global infrastructure.
  • Public Sector Professionals: Competitive pay combined with performance accountability.
• Data, Monitoring, & Policy Feedback Loops: Establish a national skilled migration observatory.
  • Track return, circulation, and sectoral outcomes.
  • Use evidence to adapt policies iteratively.

Conclusion

• Reverse brain drain is not a recruitment problem; it is a system design problem. Scientists return and stay, when institutions are trusted, funding is stable, careers are viable, and research has meaning beyond metrics.
• Challenges such as climate change, public health, agriculture, and urbanisation cut across disciplines and regions.
  • They demand collaboration, diversity of institutions, and sustained commitment across the country.

Source: TH