Societal Program

AcSIR General Guidelines:

The major objective of the Societal Program is to create and nurture a sense of social consciousness and responsibility by participation in Science & Technology activities relevant to the nation. Background: The objective of the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) is to disseminate advanced knowledge in science and technology, particularly in emerging inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary areas to create socially conscious, highest quality personnel. The ultimate aim is to create human resources who will promote research in science and technology having a bearing on social economic, cultural, intellectual and academic welfare of the people of our nation. Keeping this in view AcSIR has mandated that students aspiring to obtain a Ph.D. degree from the academy undertake a 6-8 weeks project concerned with societal/ rural issues under the Societal Program (4 credits). Societal Program has been launched by CSIR with the aspiration of inclusive growth and improved quality of lives of 800 million fellow Indians through S&T interventions that are socially and economically relevant. Societal Program focus areas: The two major focus areas of Societal Program are to enhance income and to improve the quality of life of the 800 million people of India. 

Focus Area for selecting Societal Program are:

1.  Enhancing Income of the downtrodden

        1.1. Value added Agriculture 

        1.2. Waste to Wealth 

        1.3. Energy efficiency 

 2. To Improve Quality of Life 

        2.1. Low cost housing 

        2.2. Affordable health care

        2.3. Potable Water supply 

        2.4. Sustainable energy 

        2.5. Means of protecting environment 

Guidelines for Societal Program linked AcSIR projects: 

• Students shall select a scientific topic of social relevance and aligned with the focus areas of Societal Program and studying the problem in detail. Students shall try to find out solutions which are techno-commercially viable and have the potential to be scaled up to reach out to uplift the life of millions. 

• It shall not be a mandatory requirement to live and work in the targeted areas, however, the ultimate objective of addressing societal problems shall not be compromised. 

• The students shall select the project and the target area in consultation with his/ her DAC members. 

• Students can participate in a Societal Program project either in his/ her Institute or any other CSIR institute. 

• In case the student wants to do the project in any other CSIR Institute, he/she should send a request to the coordinator of his/ her laboratory forwarded through the thesis supervisor well in advance. The coordinator in turn shall forward the request after taking the approval of the Director to the coordinator of the laboratory where the project is intended to be undertaken.

 • The coordinator of the laboratory where the project will be undertaken shall obtain approval from the Director of the laboratory which shall then be communicated to the student through the coordinator of the student's parent Institute.

 • The Institute where the project is to be undertaken shall provide all necessary infrastructural facilities and extend all possible help and cooperation to facilitate the student to complete the project. 

• After carrying out the project, the student should submit a report and give a presentation highlighting the observations/results of the project and provide recommendations (if any). This will be reviewed by the Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC) and the thesis supervisor (who is a member of DAC).

 • In case the project was undertaken in other Institutes, the supervisor with whom the project was undertaken shall also be a member of the committee reviewing the project. 

• The DAC can approve or ask for modification if they are not satisfied with the report or Presentation. The committee may recommend re-submission of the project at most once after incorporating the suggestions made by the committee for evaluation. 

• It is encouraged that the student prepares a shorter version of the report for societal usage highlighting the objectives of the project, observations, and recommendations (if any). Such reports may be sent to the relevant officers (District magistrate/ BDO’s etc) of the target area for information if felt necessary only after the approval of the Director(s) of the student’s host Institute and where the student has undertaken the project work. Host Institute is expected to translate the short report into different regional languages that are spoken locally.

Currently running Umbrella projects at CSIR-IGIB:

The Societal Program committee of IGIB has recommended and the Director has approved the following projects through which the students enrolled in AcSIR will be able to earn Societal Program credits:

1. Learning Genomics to Learn Genomes  [Mentor: Rajesh Pandey]   For further details on the project click here

2. Science Ambassador Programme is outreach at IGIB [Mentor: Beena Pillai] For further details on the project click here

3. Desh Ka Prakriti Parikshan: a Public Health Initiative for Personalized Wellness and Preventive Care [Mentor: Bhavana Prasher] For further details on the project click here

Latest Update on Guidelines Specific to CSIR-IGIB:

1. Only the Umbrella Projects (UP) will be considered for Societal project work, no individual project will be enrolled (Applicable from January 2015 batch of students).

2. A list of all current UPs will be made available on this page. The students will choose and finalise the project in the 1st year of their enrolment with due approval from their mentor and DAC members.

3. The Societal Project should be completed and presented during the comprehensive Examination. Formats for project proposal selection and evaluation are available on this page. 

4. Societal project should be presented during Open Colloquium and Thesis Viva .

5. A one page summary of Societal page should be included in the thesis submitted by the students .

6. Any new project idea that aligns with the the broad objectives of the Societal program and produces a quantifiable output by individual students, however, can be brought up by faculty and/or a group of students (mentor pre-identified) for inclusion under UP. This will be reviewed for inclusion by the Societal Project Committee. 

Format for Societal Program proposal. Please click here

Format for Societal Program Evaluation Sheet. Please click here