CHENNAI: The R&D wing of the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) will begin coordinating research funding by integrating existing schemes, including the CM Research Fellowship (CMRF) and CM Research Grant (CMRG), to ensure targeted investment in high-impact projects.
The CMRF provides support for full-time PhD scholars, offering a monthly fellowship of Rs 25,000 and an annual contingency grant of Rs 10,000 for Arts, humanities and social sciences, and Rs 12,000 for science and technical disciplines, for three years. The qualifying exam for the fellowship will be conducted annually by the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB).
The CMRG supports translational research designed to address societal needs and contribute to Tamil Nadu’s socio-economic development. Funding ceilings have been fixed at Rs 40 lakh for faculty-led projects and Rs 20 lakh for student-led initiatives, with project duration capped at three years.
A senior official from the department said, “The strengthened R&D wing of TANSCHE will function as a coordinating body to streamline and align research initiatives with the State’s socio-economic priorities. It will facilitate collaboration between academia, industry, government and the community while preventing duplication of efforts.”
The initiative is expected to deepen industry–academia–government linkages, support technology development, encourage product innovation and patents, and address brain drain through structured talent-engagement programmes.
TANSCHE will also undertake a study assessing the health of the State’s research ecosystem, with particular attention to delays in awarding PhD degrees across 13 State-run universities. “Through a detailed analysis of critical data and field-level surveys, the exercise will identify procedural gaps, administrative bottlenecks and scholar-related grievances to improve the overall research environment in TN,” the official added.