PARLIAMENT QUESTION: INSPIRE SCHEME
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: INSPIRE SCHEME
The Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is a national initiative aimed at attracting talented youth to study basic and natural sciences and pursue research careers in areas such as engineering, medicine, agriculture, and veterinary sciences, thereby strengthening the country’s research and development base. The scheme operates through multiple components across different educational stages. INSPIRE-MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge) targets students aged 10-17 studying in Classes VI–XII by encouraging innovative ideas and scientific curiosity; schools can nominate up to five students annually through the E-MIAS portal, and selected students receive ₹10,000 through Direct Benefit Transfer to develop and present their projects at district, state, and national exhibitions. INSPIRE Internship provides five-day residential science camps for about 50,000 top 1% students at the Class X board level, allowing them to interact with leading scientists and Nobel Laureates and motivating them to pursue science. Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) supports talented students aged 17-22 with 12,000 scholarships each year worth ₹80,000 per annum to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees in basic and natural sciences along with mentoring opportunities. At the research level, the INSPIRE Fellowship supports outstanding students pursuing PhD programs for up to five years with fellowships equivalent to CSIR-UGC NET (₹37,000 per month as JRF and ₹42,000 as SRF plus HRA and contingency grant of ₹20,000 per annum). Additionally, the INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship offers early-career post-doctoral researchers aged 27–32 a five-year fellowship with ₹1,25,000 per month, annual increments, and a research grant of ₹35 lakh to establish independent research careers in basic and applied sciences. Together, these components create a continuous pipeline to nurture scientific talent from school level to advanced research.
The details of funds allocated/ released/utilized under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scheme during the last five years are given below:
(Rs. in Cr.)
Program/Financial Year
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26
(As on 12.03.2026)
INSPIRE-MANAK
56.10
51.50
53.72
58.29
64.65
INSPIRE-Internship
–
–
0.34
1.75
0.78
INSPIRE-SHE
196.63
245.44
216.12
218.67
227.48
INSPIRE Fellowship
160.05
109.00
140.36
129.01
223.21
INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship
86.57
47.44
47.17
35.31
76.06
The number of schools registered on the e-MIAS (e-Management of INSPIRE Awards Scheme) portal, State/UT-wise are given below:
Sr. No.
States/UTs
Total no of school registered on E-MIAS
1
Andaman and Nicobar
247
2
Andhra Pradesh
21343
3
Arunachal Pradesh
251
4
Assam
6067
5
Bihar
45479
6
Chandigarh
227
7
Chhattisgarh
34692
8
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
367
9
Delhi
2914
10
Goa
573
11
Gujarat
35843
12
Haryana
12842
13
Himachal Pradesh
7436
14
Jammu and Kashmir
16797
15
Jharkhand
32242
16
Karnataka
78072
17
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
1237
18
Kerala
6712
19
Ladakh
500
20
Lakshadweep
67
21
Madhya Pradesh
71671
22
Maharashtra
24682
23
Manipur
280
24
Meghalaya
1641
25
Mizoram
2738
26
Nagaland
1372
27
Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti
617
28
Odisha
43821
29
Puducherry
3093
30
Punjab
22663
31
Rajasthan
57418
32
Sikkim
3025
33
Tamil Nadu
35801
Sr. No.
States/UTs
Total no of school registered on E-MIAS
34
Telangana
19720
35
Tripura
5993
36
Uttar Pradesh
88842
37
Uttarakhand
7441
38
West Bengal
3659
Total
698385
Out of the total registered schools in Uttar Pradesh, 73,873 are Government schools.
During the last five years, a total of 1,82,430 students from Government schools across the country have received awards under the INSPIRE-Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and Knowledge (MANAK) scheme. Among these beneficiaries, 10,988 students belong to Government schools in Uttar Pradesh, who have received financial assistance under the scheme for developing and showcasing their innovative ideas and projects.
Under the INSPIRE–MANAK Scheme, 93 student ideas/projects from Uttar Pradesh have been supported with prototype development funding. Out of these innovations, 10 ideas/ projects have been recommended and filed for patent applications, and 3 of these patent applications have been successfully granted patents.
The Department has undertaken several initiatives to enhance participation of Government schools, particularly in rural and educationally backward districts, under the INSPIRE–MANAK scheme. These include organization of online orientation meetings and training programmes for teachers, District Nodal Officers and other stakeholders across districts. To further strengthen awareness and participation, the Department has organized orientation workshops, disseminated audio-visual promotional materials and brochures to schools, and operationalized a cloud-based web portal and mobile application for seamless nomination and evaluation. In addition, a structured mentoring and capacity-building ecosystem has been developed wherein State-level awardees receive mentorship at premier institutions such as IITs, NITs, IISERs and Central Universities in collaboration with the National Innovation Foundation (NIF).
This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent charge) for the Ministry of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.