About the Project

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The project "Advancing Research & Development (R&D) through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)," led by Manuj Tripathi, Principal Scientist at CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) is focused on developing a strategic framework for channeling CSR funds into India's R&D sector.

Contributions to public funded Universities; Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), National Laboratories and Autonomous bodies engaged in conducting research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine in research institutes aimed at promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are eligible for receipt of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from the Corporates/Industries. This has been made possible under Section 467, Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013 after the amendment dated 11th October 2019 vide Gazette Notification Number G.S.R 776(E) was notified. This is a great untapped potential to seek funding for projects under CSR that are aligned with 17 SDG’s and 169 targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by the year 2030.India needs to step up its effort to become a global R&D hub and all stakeholders involved need to collaborate for achieving this common goal.

CSIR-IMTECH as a host institute has been conferred with the India Research Management Grant 2024 by DBT Wellcome Trust India Alliance under India Research Management Initiative (IRMI)https://www.indiaalliance.org/recently-recommended-awardees .

The project funded by IRMI aims to address the underutilisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds in India’s research and development ecosystem. Researchers often lack knowledge about CSR's legal and regulatory aspects, best practices across organisations, what type of projects to pitch for CSR and how to effectively present projects to the industry. To tackle these issues, the project envisages several key strategies which are enlisted below:-

  • Conducting knowledge series webinars: Industry experts, CSR professionals, CSR specialists from trusts and foundations, legal and taxation experts will deliver CSR-centered knowledge webinars.These sessions are designed to equip researchers with the knowledge necessary to successfully navigate the CSR landscape.
  • Creating a networking platform: A platform will be established for CSR nodal officers from various academic research institutes to connect &network with the industry and share best practices with each other.
  • Creating a web portal: A dedicated web portal(www.csrforresearch.org) will showcase potential R&D projects to the industry for CSR funding. This portal will include preliminary details of the project, its alignment with SDG, the principal investigator (PI) and CSR nodal officers and archive the webinar series. The portal shall also address Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs) and way forward for mobilizing CSR funds for R&D.

The project which is underway since April 2024 is engaging with more than 150 laboratories under the administrative control of Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Defence Research and Development (DRDO), and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), significantly impacting India's R&D funding landscape.
Expected impact of the project on India’s R&D ecosystem would be as follows:-

  • CSR nodals to be trained for engaging with the industry to pitch for CSR funds.
  • Eligible laboratories to be made legally compliant for accepting CSR funds through enabling them to get mandatory CSR registration number.
  • Networking with industry, foundation, trust and within departments for pitching lab centric or multi centric, multi PI socially impactful projects.
  • Increase in number of projects submitted and accepted for funding through CSR by corporates.
  • Increased diversification of funding resources for research and development.
  • Measurable socio economic impact of the project if the project gets funded under CSR.