SERB Science and Technology Award for Research (SERB-STAR) is a prestigious award instituted by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) to recognize and reward outstanding performance of Principal Investigators (PI) of SERB Projects.
SERB Science and Technology Award for Research - Introduction
The "SERB Science and Technology Award for Research (SERB-STAR)” is a prestigious award instituted by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) to recognize and reward the outstanding performance of Principal Investigators (PIs) of SERB Projects.
SERB has been supporting basic research in frontier areas of science and engineering through its various programs and schemes. The number of researchers under the ambit of SERB has increased over the years and they contribute significantly towards the progress of science and engineering in the country through their research endeavour.
SERB-STAR is an initiative to acknowledge such exemplary contributions in research and also to motivate the PIs of ongoing projects for outstanding performance.
Scientific Social Responsibility:
SERB has adopted the Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy to imbibe a culture of social commitment among SERB Grantees. The policy intends to effectively utilize the scientific infrastructure and expertise of SERB grantees to benefit other S&T stakeholders, especially the less-endowed researchers and society.
SERB Grantees need to undertake some SSR activities during their project period. SSR activities need to be chosen during the submission process. Depending on the activities chosen, additional budget would be provided under a separate head to carry out the chosen activities.
Benefits
- Fellowship of ₹15,000 per month, research grant of ₹10 lakh per annum, and ₹1 lakh per annum as overhead charges for a period of three years.
- Up to 30 awards per year and not more than 90 at any time.
Eligibility
- The nominee should have completed an individual-centric SERB project in the previous three financial years with an "Excellent" grade. Only the Principal Investigator of such projects and not the Co-Principal Investigators shall be eligible.
- The applicant must hold a regular academic/research position in a recognized academic institution or national laboratories or any other recognized R&D institution.
- The age of the nominee should be within 40 to 50 years as of December 31 of the year in which the call is made.
- Principal Investigators who have an ongoing fellowship/honorarium such as the JC Bose Fellowship, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Swarnajayanti Fellowship, etc. are not eligible.
- Individuals who are nominated for SERB STAR but are unsuccessful can be re-nominated for consideration in the following year subject to fulfilling other eligibility criteria.
Note: The term "Regular" refers to:
- Those who are appointed by the institutions against the 'sanctioned' post. Such positions are regularized/confirmed after the probation period is over.
- Those who are appointed in tenure posts but are likely to be renewed after the end of the tenure.
Application Process
Nomination Procedure:
- Call for nomination would be made once in a year.
- Nomination shall be made by the Head of the Institution of the nominee.
- The application would be by nomination which must be submitted online through the website www.serbonline.in
Application Procedure:
- The Principal Investigator needs to register in the SERB online portal. Click here to register
- After login, the Principal Investigator needs to fill all the mandatory fields in the Profile Details section under User Profile which includes Bio-data, Photo, Institution Address, etc.
- Under ‘Form Submission’, choose Scheme: STAR, and fill out the STAR nomination form which includes details of the completed project, other scientific contributions, nominator details, etc.
- After filling in the details, Principal Investigator should select “Send STAR nomination form to Nominator”.
- The nominator will receive intimation via email with a link to the SERB online portal, to view the filled-in STAR Nomination form.
- The Nominator can choose to submit the nomination to SERB or resend the form to the Nominee with his comments for any revision.
- Once submitted, the Principal Investigator and Nominator will receive an intimation regarding the successful submission.
Selection Procedure:
- The selection by a competent committee will be based on the performance of completed projects and other research work will carry a top-up weightage.
- At Stage 1: Preliminary Scrutiny, verification of eligibility criteria including “Excellent” grading will be carried out by SERB. Only those nominations found eligible, would be considered for Stage 2: Award Selection Process.