The Ministry of Education (MoE) has urged directors of all Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), heads of departments at universities, and other higher education institutions to actively participate in the I-STEM initiative by offering access to their research labs. I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering facilities Map) is a central government initiative launched in January 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It aims to enhance India’s research and development (R&D) ecosystem by connecting researchers with publicly funded research facilities to carry out experiments and research.
The national portal of I-STEM allows researchers to submit requests for the equipment and facilities they require, which are listed on the platform. Institutions such as IITs, NITs, and centrally-funded universities, which host the majority of the country’s advanced research equipment, are pivotal to the success of the initiative. The Ministry of Education recently held a meeting with these institutions to urge them to respond promptly to the requests pouring in via the I-STEM portal. According to officials, institutions had been slow to participate, with many requests remaining unresolved for months.
Harilal Bhaskar, the Chief Operating Officer and National Coordinator of I-STEM, acknowledged that the response from institutions had been lackluster initially. However, over the past six months, there has been an improvement in responses, with the backlog now reduced to around 20-30%. Bhaskar attributed the lack of initial participation to several factors, including the absence of incentives for institutions to share their equipment and the lack of dedicated personnel to handle the requests. In many government institutions, faculty members themselves operated the equipment, often blocking it for internal use or student training.
To address these issues, I-STEM has begun training students to serve as operators for research equipment. Some institutions, like IIT-Karnataka, have already implemented this suggestion, allowing students to be trained for the role. This step not only helps increase the availability of equipment but also provides valuable training opportunities for students interested in research and development.
In addition to improving participation among existing institutions, I-STEM is working to expand awareness of its portal, especially in remote regions of the country. The initiative aims to connect researchers in areas such as Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, and tier-III and IV cities with the advanced research facilities available at major institutions. To raise awareness, the central government held the ‘Samavesha’ event at the University of Ladakh on November 5, 2024. The event aimed to demonstrate how I-STEM helps connect researchers, industries, and start-ups to research equipment, saving them from the high costs of purchasing their own equipment.
The Samavesha project aims to prevent duplication of research resources and ensure efficient utilization of scientific equipment across institutions. Bhaskar emphasized that I-STEM helps prevent unnecessary capital expenditure for researchers, enabling them to access top-tier equipment at institutions across the country.
Looking ahead, I-STEM plans to expand its reach to all 36 states and union territories over the next three years. A significant focus will be on tier-III and IV cities, which face challenges due to limited access to high-quality research facilities. The initiative aims to facilitate collaboration between researchers in these regions and experts from premier institutions like IITs and NITs.
I-STEM has also partnered with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to streamline the process of connecting researchers with research institutions. Additionally, the platform offers a reimbursement program for expenses incurred when accessing equipment at host institutions under the AURA program.
I-STEM’s strategic expansion, coupled with increased participation from institutions, aims to foster a more collaborative, accessible, and efficient research environment across India, benefiting researchers, industries, and start-ups alike.
