IIT Indore Honoured Prestigious ANRF–PAIR Grant of ₹100 Crore from the Ministry of Science and Technology, India. Selected among seven elite institutions nationwide, IIT Indore leads the SAKSHAM research network advancing sustainability, healthcare, and materials innovation. 

IIT Indore Honoured Prestigious ANRF–PAIR Grant of ₹100 Crore from the Ministry of Science and Technology, India. Selected among seven elite institutions nationwide, IIT Indore leads the SAKSHAM research network advancing sustainability, healthcare, and materials innovation. 

IIT Indore Awarded Prestigious ANRF–PAIR Grant of ₹100 Crore

The Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore) has been selected as one of only seven institutions nationwide to receive the highly prestigious Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (PAIR) grant of ₹100 crore, awarded by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). This significant achievement places IIT Indore among India’s most accomplished research institutions and reaffirms its leadership in innovation, science, and interdisciplinary research.

Under the PAIR initiative, IIT Indore will serve as the Hub Institution for a newly established collaborative research network titled SAKSHAM – Scientific Advancements in Knowledge for Sustainability, Healthcare, and Materials. The network follows a mentorship-driven hub-and-spoke model and includes six partner institutions:

• Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore ; PI: Dr. Pratosh Bansal

• Vikram University, Ujjain; PI: Dr. Umesh Kumar Singh

• Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bhopal;  PI: Dr. Neha Singh

• Bundelkhand University; PI: Dr. Lavkush Dwivedi

• National Institute of Technology (NIT) Kurukshetra; PI: Dr. Chetti Prabhakar 

• Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj (RTM) Nagpur University;  PI: Prof.  Dadasaheb M Kokare
  
  

The SAKSHAM network brings together 165 faculty members across 56 departments from the seven participating institutions to undertake interdisciplinary research aligned with national priorities in sustainability, healthcare technologies, and advanced materials.

The successful proposal was developed and presented under the continuous guidance and supervision of Prof. Suhas Joshi, Director, IIT Indore. Key leadership roles in the project include:

• Prof. Abhirup Datta, Dean (Research and Development), IIT Indore, serving as the Project Director for the ANRF–PAIR initiative

• Prof. Shailesh Kundalwal, Lead, Advanced Materials theme

• Prof. Debayan Sarkar, Lead, Environmental Sustainability theme

• Prof. Sharad Gupta, Lead, Health and Medical Technologies theme

The ANRF–PAIR initiative, launched under the guidance of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aims to reduce disparities in research capacity across Indian higher education institutions. By promoting mentorship-based collaborations between leading research hubs and institutions with emerging research potential, the program seeks to build sustainable R&D ecosystems through capacity building, shared infrastructure, research training, and long-term institutional development.

IIT Indore was honoured to host Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO, Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), for a review meeting of the SAKSHAM (Scientific Advancements in Knowledge for Sustainability, Healthcare, and Materials) initiative on 11 December 2025.

 The meeting focused on reviewing the progress of the Hub-and-Spoke institutions under the ANRF-PAIR programme. On the occasion, Prof. Suhas S. Joshi, Director, IIT Indore, and Prof. Abhirup Datta, Dean (R&D) and Project Director, SAKSHAM, formally felicitated Dr. Kalyanaraman. The visit also marked the inauguration of a new SAKSHAM batch, reinforcing the programme’s capacity-building objectives.

 The SAKSHAM project at IIT Indore operates across three thematic areas:

• Advanced Materials 

• Environmental Sustainability

• Energy, Healthcare, and Medical Technologies

Funded with ₹101 crore, the initiative brings together IIT Indore as the Hub institution and six Spoke institutions: Bundelkhand University, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, IIIT Bhopal, NIT Kurukshetra, RTM Nagpur University, and Vikram University.

 Key Highlights of the Meeting

• Enhanced social media outreach to increase visibility and public engagement with ANRF initiatives

• Leveraging SARAL AI to make research outputs more accessible, engaging, and understandable to the experts and the common people

• Strengthening spoke-to-spoke collaborations to drive high-impact research outcomes

• Emphasising research impact beyond publications, with a focus on tangible societal benefits

• Promoting hybrid modes for conferences and workshops to enable wider participation

• Encouraging high-value research publications in reputed platforms

• Adoption of project management tools to improve execution efficiency and ensure theme-wise outcomes are shared across all project participants