Research Programmes
BRIC Integrated, Inter-Institutional Research Programs
The DBT research institutions will coordinate the execution of the Integrated Research Strategy for BRIC addressing national missions. Some of the components of the programs are as follows:
- BRIC will tap into the faculty and talents in its Research Institutes and Centres of Excellence funded through DBT’s extra-mural support to develop hubs for knowledge-based innovation and technological advances. At the core will lie data skills, data ethics, and the ability to interrogate issues of global scope.
- Thrust areas that consolidate emerging core strengths in DBT Institutes will be identified. These reflect current contemporary areas globally and resonate with missions of national importance. The thrust areas are described in the broadest terms to remain dynamic, responsive to need, and build current, complementary linkages in globally relevant areas. The Institutes populate and will contribute to multiple thrust areas, as shown below:
| S.No. | Name of AI | Publications (2017-22) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Center for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) | 294 |
| 2 | Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB) | 147 |
| 3 | Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) | 275 |
| 4 | Institute of Bioresources & Sustainable Development (IBSD) | 192 |
| 5 | Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) | 287 |
| 6 | National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) | 281 |
| 7 | National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) | 242 |
| 8 | National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) | 547 |
| 9 | National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) | 93 |
| 10 | National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG) | 158 |
| 11 | National Institute of Immunology (NII) | 370 |
| 12 | National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) | 517 |
| 13 | Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) | 453 |
| 14 | Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) | 392 |
Genomics, Genetics, Computational and Data Science, Development of chemical and molecular tools contribute to all relevant thrust areas.
Operationally, the Research Institutes will provide leadership in thrust areas by mechanisms that include but are not limited to (i) Identifying and steering convergent directions and collaborations within and across areas; (ii) Coordinate submission of large programmatic grants and, (iii) Enable the emergence of focus groups for accelerated activities within a thrust area.
Immersion-based Biotech Ph.D. programs
Overall, less than 1% of the country’s approximately 40,000 higher education institutions engage in research, and there is a dearth of quality Ph.D. programme in life sciences and biotechnology in the country. DBT over a period of 30 years, established 16 elite research institutions in the country with national facilities and world-class laboratories. They have built distinct research identities in biotechnology – immunology, genomics, cell science, DNA fingerprinting, translational health, animal biotech, plant biotech, food processing, stem cells & regenerative medicine, bioresource and brain research. All these institutions have been enrolling minimal numbers of Ph.D. students through the respective universities in the State.
DBT-BRIC Research Program
The objectives of BRIC are aimed at promoting cutting-edge research in biotechnology aligned with national priorities, fostering innovation and translation across institutional boundaries, and developing indigenous technologies and capabilities in line with the principles of Atmanirbhar Bharat. To this end, BRIC seeks to nurture the next generation of scientific leaders by initiating multi-disciplinary Ph.D. programmes. BRIC will work in partnership with the Regional Centre of Biotechnology (RCB) to offer globally competitive interdisciplinary education and research programs in biotechnology. The Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad, is an Institution of National Importance created by an Act of the Parliament of India, established by DBT, Government of India, under the auspices of UNESCO, with the mandate of providing world-class education, training and research at the interface of multiple disciplines in biotechnology. This is expected to create high-quality biotech Ph.D.’s in India (1000 in the next 5 years) with strong domain expertise.
Programme Overview
The proposed Ph.D. programme will enroll highly talented Ph.D. scholars in foundational coursework along with hands-on training in high-end technology platforms for the first semester at RCB. It would also include an immersion program for an additional three months to establish the need and rationale of the research hypothesis through field studies/experimentation. Scholars would be provided additional scholarships for these immersion programs from Grand Challenges India (GCI). Upon completion of the foundational courses, the scholars will continue their Ph.D. research work in any of the BRIC institutions based on the research domain.
Immersion-based i3c Ph.D. programs
