IMPRESS Scheme: Objectives, Eligibility and Procedure for Joining Impress Scheme, ICSSR and HEFA

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  • The HRD (Human Resource Development) Ministry under the Central Government on October 25,2018 launched Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences (IMPRESS) scheme to promote research in Social Sciences.
  • The office of IMPRESS is located at ICSSR.
  • The main objective is to identify and fund research proposals in social sciences with maximum impact on the governance and society.
  • A total funding of ₹ 414 crore on 1500 projects for policy themes in the social sciences at the cost of ₹ 20 - 25 Lakh per project will be done by the government of India.
Illustration: IMPRESS Scheme: Objectives, Eligibility and Procedure for Joining Impress Scheme, ICSSR and HEFA

Supporting Areas

The 11 broad thematic areas include:

  • State and Democracy
  • Urban transformation
  • Media, Culture and Society
  • Employment, Skills and Rural transformation
  • Governance, Innovation and Public Policy
  • Growth, Macro-trade and Economic Policy
  • Agriculture and Rural Development
  • Health and Environment
  • Science and Education
  • Social Media and Technology
  • Politics, Law and Economics

Objectives

  • Identifying and Funding research proposals in social sciences with maximum impact on the governance and society.
  • Ensuring selection of projects through a transparent, competitive process on online mode.
  • Providing opportunity for social science researchers in any institution in the country, including all Universities (Centre and State) , private institutions with 12 (B) status conferred by UGC.

Eligibility

  • All the government funded institutions including Universities (central and state) , private institutions with UGC 12 (b) status and ICSSR Research Institutes are eligible to apply.
  • The Project Director should be a regular employee with Ph. D. degree and have an interest in high quality research which may be evidenced by past studies, publications and academic background.In case the project has co-Director (s) , they should have proven research interest.
  • Individual scholars can apply for maximum two projects at a time.In case both projects are selected, the applicant can choose only one project at level 3.
  • The Institutes having good research infrastructure and resources may apply for a number of proposals.

Implementation and Updates

  • The calls for proposals regarding the selection will be completed within 90 days from the date of call for proposals.
  • There will be a regular monitoring of the progress of projects using the online portal. The progress report will be directly updated by the Project Coordinator.
  • A third party evaluation of the project will also be there.

ICSSR Indian Council of Social Science Research ICSSR

  • It was established in the year of 1969 by the Government of India to promote research in social sciences in the country.

HEFA (Higher Education Financing Agency)

  • It is a joint venture of MHRD Government of India and Canara Bank with an agreed equity participation in the ratio of 91% and 9% respectively.
  • HEFA was created as a nonprofit based company under the Companies Act 2013.
  • This financing is for creating capital assets in premier educational institutions in India as part of rising 2022.
  • HEFA aims to cover school education, educational institutes under Ministry of Health.