image credit- pib
In a significant move to accelerate the transformation of India’s research ecosystem, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the Wadhwani Foundation exchanged a landmark "Letter of Intent" in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Science and Technology Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh and Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
The partnership signals a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a government-backed apex research institution and a philanthropic private foundation, aimed at co-funding and scaling up research that can drive tangible societal impact. The agreement is also the inaugural step in ANRF’s strategy to foster expansive public-private partnerships across critical sectors of national relevance.
The collaboration marks a turning point in how research will be funded and delivered in India in the times to come, emphasising inclusivity, interdisciplinary, and grassroots reach. In line with ANRF’s broader vision, this partnership aims to promote equitable access to resources and opportunities across the country, including tier-2 and tier-3 institutions, thereby fostering a more distributed and resilient research culture.
With this new partnership, ANRF aims not only to fund cutting-edge science, but also to translate research into scalable, impactful solutions by aligning with national priorities and global challenges alike. Wadhwani Foundation’s involvement adds a crucial layer of experience in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation-driven development, especially among youth and startups. Together, the two entities will work to raise the scale and impact of late-stage translational research, projects that are often closest to delivering real-world outcomes but remain underfunded.
