From 2025, no central funding for Indian National Academy of Engineering

The Centre has decided not to provide any financial support to the Indian National Academy of Engineering from 2025 onwards—a decision that was described as “unfortunate” by veteran scientists.

The Department of Science and Technology conveyed the decision to the INAE—a body of India’s best engineers including those who steered atomic energy, space and defence programmes—following the recommendations of an expert committee, and a review exercise carried out by the Department of Expenditure earlier this year.

INAE is one of India’s six science academies that award fellowships, bring out technical publications, deliberate on policy issues and give suggestions to the government, and promote engineering among the public.

On June 24, 2022, the secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) wrote to Indranil Manna, INAE president and vice-chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology in Mesra, that “the government had considered and decided to accept the recommendations (of the expert panel) for disengagement from the activities of INAE.”

“The matter was reviewed on June 22, 2022, by the Department of Expenditure and (it was) decided that disengagement of Government would be completed by 31.3.2025,” the letter stated. That means the “grants-in-aid” given by the government to INAE will end by March 31, 2025.

The thousand-member academy annually receives around Rs 4 crore from the government for the programmes it runs. “It is a very unfortunate decision and detrimental to India’s ambition of becoming self-reliant in technology,” Manna told DH.

The INAE president on Tuesday wrote to the members of the Governing Council seeking their suggestion on developing “a time-bound comprehensive plan to raise a respectable corpus fund of INAE" to ensure the academy's survival even after the DST withdraws the financial support.

“It is very unfortunate that the Government has decided to disengage from activities of the INAE, an independent platform of most eminent achievers in the area that has been making important contributions to engineering and technology scene in the country,” Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and a past president of INAE, wrote in a tweet.

Quoting government documents, Manna said the government suggested converting the INAE a Section 8 (not-for-profit) Company under Companies Act, 2013.

An official letter said that the “government had decided not to involve itself directly into the business of promoting and advancing the practice of engineering and technology in the country when the same objectives could be achieved by its corporatisation."

“Can’t a trillion-dollar economy afford Rs 4 crore?” wondered an INAE member who did not wish to be identified.