Parliament panel flags large-scale vacancies in research bodies, low stipends; suggests fellowship hikes

Autonomous research organisations under the ministry of education are suffering from absence of leadership and inadequate funding, the parliamentary panel on education has suggested. Bodies like the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR), Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), Indian Council for Philosophical Research (ICPR) and Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), Shimla, have not had directors for long stretches of time.

The panel, headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, has suggested increasing research stipends for fellowships offered by these bodies, mostly engaged in encouraging research. In the case of ICSSR, it has suggested implementing the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations.

The panel reviewed the functioning of these bodies and tabled its report in parliament on Monday. It also looked into the Auroville Foundation and has recommended to the government that the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988 be amended to recognise it as an Institution of National Importance. It also adds that instead of being provided with annual grants, the foundation should be granted with sufficient amounts to sustain itself.

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Expand ICSSR funding: Parliamentary panel

The ICSSR was set up in 1969 to encourage, promote and fund social science research in the country. It supports early, mid-career and senior researchers in fulfilling their research endeavours through research Projects and fellowships in various priority areas.

The body informed the panel that across three financial years – 2022-23 to 2024-25 – it awarded a total of 2,339 research projects and programmes.

Stating that ICSSR has been entrusted with a very broad mandate to support social sciences research across the country and with the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP 2020) there is a need for the body to expand and their “fundings” increased.

“The Committee notes that the ICSSR doctoral fellows get only Rs 20,000 per month, which is rather inadequate given that the UGC Junior Research Fellowship itself pays Rs 37,000 per month. The Committee therefore recommends an increase in the amount paid as stipend,” it added.

Reiterating the recommendations of the 364th report the committee states that the Seventh Pay Commission has still not been implemented. “The committee notes that the diminished pay scale makes recruitment of faculty members at the research institutes very challenging,” it said.

In 2022, the ministry had set up a committee to look into the implementation of the pay commission for ICSSR’s research institutions and regional centers.

“The Committee has been informed that as of June 2025 no report in this matter has been issued. …The Committee recommends that the report should be submitted as soon as possible given that this matter has been pending for several years,” it added.

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The panel pointed out that the ministry of education is withholding support when state governments have implemented the 7th Pay Commission for their share of funding.

“The committee notes that several state governments – including but not limited to the governments of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Bihar – are implementing the 7th Pay Commission for their share of funding. At a time when state governments are rising to support these institutions, the committee feels it becomes all the more pressing for the union ministry of education to do the same,” the panel stated.

The panel has also found that the lack of co-ordination between the state and central government has caused delay in funding to institutes. For instance, the Giri Institute of Development Studies in Lucknow is reportedly facing a 1.5-year lag in funds received from the state government.

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ICSSR: One chairperson for less than one year

The committee has expressed concern over vacant leadership positions in ICSSR research institutes.

Since December 2019, the position of the chairperson for ICSSR has largely been vacant – with only one chairperson appointed briefly between April 2022 and August 2023.

“The Committee strongly recommends that the ministry look into the appointment of a full-time, fully empowered Chairman at the earliest and avoid such delays in appointments to the Chairperson role in the future,” the panel stated.

No recruitments have reportedly taken place in the Giri institute since 2016. There are also reports of disruptions in promotions at ICSSR research institutions.

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Further, the committee has also recommended that the council look into setting up collaborations with such organisations to leverage the research undertaken by its scholars and research institutes into policy decisions.

ICHR, ICPR: Increase of research fellowships

For all these research institutions, inadequate funding is a major cause of concern, as pointed out by the panel.

ICHR is an autonomous body set up in 1972 to promote and give direction to historical research. The panel reiterates its observation from report 364 regarding the inadequacy of its current budget.

“The committee re-emphasises the need to increase the budget for the council given the critical functions it conducts. The JRF issued by the ICHR is limited to 80 students across the country. Further, the stipend is only Rs 17,600 – a figure which has not been revised in many years and which is inadequate given that the UGC’s JRF is Rs 37,000 per month. Therefore, the committee recommends an increase in the fellowship amount as well as to the number of students who receive the fellowship,” the panel stated.

For ICPR, the body which came into existence in July 1977 with an objective to provide impetus to philosophical discourse by promoting philosophical research, the recommendations are also similar.

The panel states that ICPR holds one of the largest libraries of philosophy in Asia but that it is currently severely under-utilised. “The committee recommends that the council and the department work together to enhance the library’s utilisation, including possibly creating residential fellowships to facilitate scholars seeking dedicated access to the library,” it stated.

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The panel has also recommended that the department should review the report of the high powered committee, set up in 2016-18, to examine the current functioning of the ICPR.

IIAS Shimla: Sanctioned fellow posts vacant

The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) was set up by the Ministry of Education in 1964 and started functioning from October 20, 1965.

During a visit to the institute in May 2025, the committee found that the director’s position had been lying vacant since August 2021. The post has just been filled in August 2025.

“The committee underscores the need to fill up such vacancies expeditiously in future,” stated the panel.

During the visit, the panel also found that the three-year tenure of the IIAS Society and the IIAS Governing Body had lapsed in December 2024. Similarly the IIAS currently has only two of the five National Fellows sanctioned.

“The institute’s inability to fill the sanctioned number of National Fellows – the most prestigious position at the Institute – compromises the ability of the institute to meet its potential. The institute’s inability to fully realise the vision and mission of the Tagore Center is therefore disappointing,” the panel noted.

Auroville: IIT Madras sustainability campus

Auroville was founded by the ‘Mother’ in February 1968 as an international cultural township.

The panel has welcomed the Auroville Foundation’s MoU with IIT Madras which paves the way for setting up a sustainability campus, but suggests finding an “alternative site”.

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“The committee notes that the land for the campus is supposed to come at the expense of the Annapurna Farms currently existing at the location. Food sustainability is an integral part of the vision of Auroville and the loss of farmland will certainly impact the long-term ability of Auroville to sustain itself. Further, Annapurna Farms is currently engaging in organic farming, which was central to the Mother’s vision for the community. The Committee recommends that Annapurna farms should not be disturbed and that alternative sites nearby should be found to situate the sustainability campus,” it stated

The committee has also recommended that the government may consider amending the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988, to provide recognition of Auroville as an Institution of National Importance.

On the funding pattern of Auroville Foundation, the panel said: “The foundation receives partial funding from the central government in the form of annual grants, as stipulated by the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988. These grants are provided by the Ministry of Education…. The Foundation also generates its own income, but government grants still remain a significant source of funding for its operations and projects. The Committee feels that instead of an annual grant, the foundation should be granted sufficient amounts to sustain itself in future,” the panel added.