The SERB Science and Technology Award for Research (SERB-STAR) is a prestigious accolade established by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) to acknowledge and reward the exceptional performance of Principal Investigators (PIs) who have completed individual-centric SERB Projects with an “Excellent” grading.
SERB, through its various programs and schemes, has been supporting basic research in cutting-edge areas of science and engineering, and the SERB-STAR award aims to recognize the outstanding contributions of researchers toward the progress of science and engineering in India.
Eligibility Criteria for SERB-STAR Award
To be eligible for the SERB-STAR award, the nominee must meet the following criteria:
Completion of individual-centric SERB project: The nominee should have completed a SERB project in the previous three financial years with an "Excellent" grading. Only the PI of such projects, and not the Co-PIs, shall be eligible.
Regular academic/research position: The applicant must hold a regular academic/research position in a recognized academic institution, national laboratories, or any other recognized R&D institutions.
The term "Regular" refers to those who are appointed by the institutions against the 'sanctioned' post, which is regularized/confirmed after the probation period is over, or those who are appointed in a tenure post but are likely to be renewed after the end of the tenure.
Age limit: The age of the nominee should be within 40 to 50 years as on December 31 of the year in which the call for nominations is made.
No ongoing fellowships/honorarium: PIs who have ongoing fellowships/honorarium such as JC Bose Fellowship, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Swarnajayanti Fellowship, etc. are not eligible for the SERB-STAR award.
Renomination: Individuals who are nominated for SERB-STAR but are unsuccessful can be renominated for consideration in the following year, subject to fulfilling other eligibility criteria.Nature of Support and Selection Process
The SERB-STAR award provides the following support to the awardees:
Fellowship: A monthly fellowship of Rs. 15,000/- for a period of three years.
Research grant: A research grant of Rs. 10 lakh per annum to support the research activities of the awardee.
Overhead charges: An additional Rs. 1 lakh per annum as overhead charges.The selection process for the SERB-STAR award involves two stages:
Stage 1 - Preliminary Scrutiny: SERB verifies the eligibility criteria, including the "Excellent" grading of the completed project, for all the nominations received. Only the nominations found eligible proceed to the next stage.
Stage 2 - Award Selection Process: A competent committee evaluates the nominations based on the performance of completed projects and other research work, which carries a top-up weightage.Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) and Online Submission Instructions
SERB has also adopted a Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy to promote a culture of social commitment among its grantees. Under this policy, SERB grantees, including the awardees of SERB-STAR, are required to undertake SSR activities during their project period, which can be chosen during the submission process. An additional budget would be provided under a separate head to carry out the chosen SSR activities.
For successful online submission of the application, the following points may be noted:
- PI needs to register in the SERB online portal click here to register.
- After log-in, PI needs to fill in all the mandatory fields in 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 a completed project, other scientific contributions, nominator details, etc.
- After filling in the details, PI should send STAR nomination form to Nominator.
- Nominators would receive intimation via email with a link to the SERB online portal, to view the filled-in STAR Nomination form.
- Nominator has to submit the nomination to SERB.
- Once submitted, PI and Nominator will receive an intimation regarding the successful submission.
SERB Science and Technology Award for Research (SERB-STAR) is a prestigious recognition that aims to acknowledge and reward outstanding performance of Principal Investigators (PIs) of SERB Projects. Through this initiative, SERB encourages exemplary contributions in research and motivates PIs to excel in their ongoing projects, further promoting the progress of science and engineering in the country.
