SERB - POWER Research Grants

What are SERB-POWER Research Grants?

SERB-POWER Research Grants are a research-funding scheme for women scientists, run under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) of the Department of Science and Technology. POWER stands for Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research. The programme was launched to reduce gender disparity in science and engineering research funding and to give women scientists in India structured, dedicated support for leading their own research projects.

The scheme was originally launched by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB). SERB has since been subsumed into ANRF, so the POWER grants now operate under ANRF while the older serb.gov.in pages continue to carry the scheme details. There are two connected components under the POWER umbrella: the POWER Fellowship for individual women scientists, and the POWER Research Grants covered here, which fund a research project led by a woman Principal Investigator.

According to the SERB-POWER programme, the aim is to ensure equal access and weighted opportunities for Indian women scientists who often face structural barriers in securing competitive research funding.

How much do SERB-POWER Research Grants provide?

The grants are offered at two levels:

• Level I, funding of up to Rs 60 lakh for three years.
• Level II; funding of up to Rs 30 lakh for three years.

The level applicable to a proposal depends on the seniority of the woman Principal Investigator and the type of host institution, as set out in the SERB-POWER guidelines. The grant is a project grant, not a personal allowance. It covers research costs such as project staff, equipment, consumables, travel and overheads, and is released to the host institution against an approved proposal and its budget.

Who is eligible for a SERB-POWER Research Grant?

You can apply if:

• You are a woman scientist and an Indian citizen.
• You hold a regular research or faculty position in a recognised Indian academic institution, national laboratory or research institution.
• Your proposal is endorsed and forwarded by your host institution.
• Faculty recruited through the UGC Faculty Recharge Programme, and INSPIRE Faculty, Ramanujan and Ramalingaswamy Fellows, may apply provided they have sufficient tenure remaining, as specified in the guidelines.

Any Co-Principal Investigator must also be a woman from the same institute. A male Co-PI is not allowed under this women-focused scheme.

You cannot apply if:

• You are male — the grant is exclusively for women Principal Investigators.
• You already hold a POWER Fellowship, a woman scientist cannot hold a POWER Fellowship and a POWER Grant at the same time.
• You are a J.C. Bose fellow, or a Principal Investigator who has already completed two Core Research Grant (CRG) projects.
• You are an individual seeking a personal cash benefit, this is a research project grant routed through an institution, not a scholarship or stipend.

Can an individual apply for a personal benefit?

No. SERB-POWER Research Grants are competitive research grants, not an individual welfare benefit. There is no direct-benefit-transfer payment to a citizen. A woman scientist applies with a specific research proposal, the proposal is peer-reviewed, and if selected the funds are sanctioned to her host institution to run the project. Readers looking for a personal scholarship or fellowship stipend should look instead at the POWER Fellowship or at student scholarship schemes.

What documents are required?

How to apply for a SERB-POWER Research Grant

1. Check the ANRF/SERB portal (serb.gov.in) for an open call for proposals under SERB-POWER Research Grants, as applications are accepted only during an active call.
2. Register on the online proposal portal as a Principal Investigator.
3. Prepare the research proposal, objectives, methodology, expected outcomes and a detailed three-year budget, in the required format, and add your biodata and publication list.
4. Ensure any Co-PI is a woman from your institute, and obtain the endorsement of your host institution.
5. Submit the proposal online before the call closes; the institution forwards it for peer review and evaluation by ANRF.

Where to get help

The scheme is administered by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (which absorbed SERB) under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Scheme details, the current guidelines and open calls are published on serb.gov.in/page/serb_power and the ANRF online portal. Because funding levels and eligibility conditions are periodically revised, always confirm the current figures and the open-call timeline on the official ANRF/SERB pages before applying.