Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme: 11 projects approved
Within the scope of the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme (ISJRP), 100 applications had been received by mid-April 2018. Eleven of them were awarded a grant.
The SNSF and its partner organisation in India were commissioned by the State Secretariat for Research, Education and Innovation (SERI) to launch a joint call for projects by Swiss and Indian researchers. The projects will run for four years and financing on the Swiss side will cover similar costs as in national SNSF projects (research funds, salaries, etc.). The main topic addressed in the call of January 2018 is "Blue sky research/basic research in the life sciences which is either biotechnology-related or biotechnology-inspired”.
Of the 100 submitted projects, 87 were eligible for funding. These applications were jointly evaluated by the SNSF and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Both organisations nominated international experts as members of the evaluation commission. Eleven projects were approved.
The SNSF will cover the costs of approx. CHF 4 million for the Swiss part of the research and the DBT will finance the research work conducted in India. In 2014, the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme had already funded 11 projects, back then in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology (DST).