The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) organized a one-day conclave for IRG/EMEQ Principal Investigators at BRIC-National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) in New Delhi on November 13, 2026. The event was part of the nationwide Jan Jatiya Gaurav Divas 2026 celebrations observed from November 1-15 to commemorate Bhagwan Birsa Munda's birth anniversary on November 15, following directives from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Approximately 60 Principal Investigators and scientists participated in the conclave, which was attended by Prof. Gobardhan Das (Member, NITI Aayog) as Chief Guest, along with Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman (CEO, ANRF), Dr. Manoj Prasad (Director, BRIC-NIPGR), Dr. Nishant Verma (Joint Secretary, ANRF), Dr. Premila Mohan (Scientist-G, ANRF), Dr. T. Thangaradjou (Scientist-F and Program Director, IRG), and other senior ANRF officials.
Prof. Gobardhan Das highlighted Bhagwan Birsa Munda's legacy and government initiatives focusing on inclusive development and empowerment of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, while also noting India's progress in economic growth, infrastructure development, poverty reduction, and socio-economic development. Dr. Kalyanaraman emphasized ANRF's commitment to democratizing research opportunities and ensuring tribal communities participate in India's journey toward becoming a global knowledge powerhouse, stressing the need for research outcomes to demonstrate measurable societal impact and technological advancements.
Dr. Premila Mohan detailed the achievements of the erstwhile EMEQ programme and the current Inclusivity Research Grant (IRG), which has resulted in over 5,300 research publications and more than 300 patent filings over the past decade. The technical program featured expert talks from Prof. Chandra Shekhar Sharma (IIT Hyderabad) on research project implementation, Dr. Subeer S. Majumdar (former Director General, Gujarat Biotechnology University) on research planning and publication, Dr. Manoj Prasad on research proposal strategies, and Prof. Dipti Ranjan Sahoo (IIT Delhi) on engineering science research needs.
The IRG program, which subsumed the previous EMEQ scheme of SERB, supports researchers from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in pursuing frontier research in Science and Engineering, aiming to strengthen research capabilities and ensure broader participation in India's scientific advancement.