Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme

On 8 January 2026, the SNSF launched two calls for proposals with different thematic focuses:

Joint call with the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)

This call invites the submission of joint research projects (JRPs) in the field of geoscience research on natural hazards in mountain regions. The SNSF will cover the costs of projects in Switzerland and the MoES will cover those in India. Projects with durations of three to four years may be submitted; the maximum contribution is CHF 300,000 for three years and CHF 400,000 for four years. The SNSF and the MoES will fund around 10 projects, provided that enough high-quality proposals are received.

Joint call with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)

The call with the ICSSR is aimed at researchers who would like to work on social science issues together with partners in India. The call document defines the thematic framework within which projects can be submitted.

For this call, the SNSF will also cover the costs of the Swiss parts of the projects, while the ICSSR will cover those in India. Only proposals with a maximum duration of three years and a requested funding amount of no more than CHF 300,000 may be submitted. The SNSF and the ICSSR can fund a total of 10 projects, provided that enough qualified proposals are submitted.

The conditions for participation and all relevant information can be found in the respective call documents. Details of the third call will be published shortly. On 2 February 2026, the SNSF is launching a third call with India, with a focus on One Health.

Up to ten projects with a duration of up to four years can be funded. The maximum budget for the Swiss side is CHF 400,000 per project. As with the other two calls, Switzerland and India will each bear the costs for the researchers in their respective countries.

• Call document MOES (PDF)

• Call document ICSSR (PDF)

• Documents & downloads

• Mobility grants in projects
• Flexibility Grant
• Media training
• Gender equality grant (only for staff members employed in Switzerland)

• Guidelines for CV and major achievements

• Lifetime management of projects

• Bilateral programmes of the Swiss government
  

Call for proposals 2021

In the context of the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme (ISJRP), the SNSF, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) in India and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) are issuing a call for Joint Research Projects (JRPs).

The call supports research and projects in two different fields of research, one under the Ministry of Earth Sciences in India (MoES) and one under the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

Under the MoES, the overarching topic of the call is “Mountain research, with a focus on glaciers or climate research”. The proposal must fall under one of the following subtopics:

• Glaciers as climate archives
• Cryospheric modelling
• Forecasts for heavy rainfall/cloudburst
• Multi-risk early warning systems
• Orographic cloud and precipitation formation
• Aerosols from mountainous ecosystems to act as cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleating particles

Under the ICSSR, the following topics in the field of social sciences are available:

• International Migration and Immigration Policies
• Technology, Social Media and Social Cohesion
• Heritage and Cultural Exchange in Global Age
• AI, Big Data and Social Science

The duration of the JRPs under the MoES topics is 3 to 4 years and JRPs under the ICSSR topics 3 years.

The call for proposal was open from the 1 September 2021 to 30 november 2021.

Call for proposals 2020

The call concerns projects in the following area:

• Systems Medicine

​​​The call for proposals was open from 2 June 2020 to 11 September 2020.​​

The submitted applications were jointly evaluated by the SNSF and the DBT. All in all, 15projects were approved for funding. The SNSF will cover the costs of CHF 4.8 million for the Swiss part of the research and the DBT the costs incurred in India.​

Call for proposals 2018

The call concerned projects in the following area:​

• Blue sky research/basic research in the life sciences which is either biotechnology-related or biotechnology-inspired; biotechnology as key enabling technology including (but not restricted to) the following sectors: agriculture, environment, energy, materials sciences, health, medicine, industry (industrial biotechnology)

The call for proposals was open from 15 January 2018 to 16 April 2016.

The 100 submitted applications were jointly evaluated by the SNSF and the DBT. All in all, 11 projects were approved for funding. The SNSF will cover the costs of CHF 4 million for the Swiss part of the research and the DBT the costs incurred in India.​​

Call for proposals 2014

By the end of March 2014, the SNSF and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) had received 66 project proposals, 11 of which were approved. The number of projects per topic is as follows:

• Translational biomedical research and medical technology: 7
• Renewable energy research: 4

The projects started in 2015 and will run till
​. The SNSF will cover the costs of CHF 2.7 million for the Swiss part of the research and the DST the costs incurred in India. For more information on the projects, please refer to our research database P3.

Research database P3