HYDERABAD: While 40% of grants sanctioned by the University Grants Commission (UGC), under its major research project scheme (MRPS) from 2016-17 to 2018-19, have gone to south Indian states, Telangana lags far behind its southern counterparts.A reply to a query posed in the Rajya Sabha on state-wise funds being allocated by the UGC for major research projects revealed that of the total Rs 82.35 crores sanctioned for 819 projects across the country, Telangana only had 24 projects with a sanctioned amount of around Rs 2.5 crores.According to figures released by the UGC, of the 325 projects bagged by the five southern states and union territory of Puducherry at a combined cost of nearly Rs 34 crore, grants for 143 projects were bagged by Tamil Nadu, for 45 projects by Karnataka while neighbours Andhra Pradesh with 77 had over triple the number of projects when compared to Telangana.Speaking of Telangana’s performance, Prof S Ramachandram, vice-chancellor of Osmania University (OU) said that many projects had not been sanctioned by the UGC. “The number of projects sanctioned by the UGC has dropped in the last two years. We cannot say that Telangana is in the lowest rung in research as there are other schemes through which we get sufficient funding. Few of them are proportionate to the impact that our research papers have had in the society,” said Ramachandram, adding that MRPS is just one component of a larger picture.However, several faculty members in the state have blamed the shortage of teachers in universities and colleges to lack of research in Telangana. “Over 900 teaching posts lie vacant in state universities. When there are no teachers, who is going to conduct research,” questioned a professor at Kakatiya University The MRPS supports projects by faculty members in sectors such as humanities, social sciences, languages, literature, pure sciences, engineering and technology, pharmacy, medical and agricultural sciences among others.The UGC, in its reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, stated that in the past one year, around Rs 46 crores were spent on 83 joint research projects through various international collaborations. Not just this, the UGC has also approved funds under the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration, Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) scheme and Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences.

Stay updated with all the Hyderabad Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.