Grants, Fellowships and Funding Opportunities Under ICMR

Research ideas often begin with a simple question, an unsolved problem, or an observation that deserves deeper investigation. However, turning that idea into meaningful research requires more than scientific expertise. Researchers need financial support for laboratory facilities, equipment, research personnel, data collection, field studies, advanced analysis, and technology development. Research funding can therefore play a decisive role in transforming a promising research ideas into a completed research project with real-world impact.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), with its 27 state-of-the-art Institutes/Centers is one of the major government organizations supporting biomedical, public health, and allied research. ICMR offers a diverse range of funding mechanisms rather than a single research grant. Funding opportunities under ICMR include Intramural and Extramural Grants, the National Health Research Programme, Fellowships, Research Support, and various time-bound Calls for Proposals addressing specific research priorities.

Funding Opportunities Under ICMR

For researchers, finding funding opportunities under ICMR is only the first step. The more important question is which funding programme is appropriate for a particular research idea, career stage, institution, and stage of research development. This guide provides a detailed overview of the major grants and funding opportunities under ICMR. It also explains how researchers can identify the right funding opportunity, understand the difference between major ICMR schemes, and prepare themselves for a competitive research proposal.

A. ICMR Intramural Grants

Intramural grants are financial support provided to ICMR institutes to conduct research according to their mandates and priorities. The current intramural programme is intended to encourage high-risk, high-reward research by ICMR scientists. The programme is therefore primarily relevant to researchers working within the ICMR system. The current intramural framework includes the following research grants.

1. Investigator Initiated Research Proposals – Intermediate Grants (Core)

Criteria/Purpose:

• Projects should be designed as Institute- initiated rather than Investigator-initiated to reflect the vision and mandate of the specific ICMR Institute.
• Each Institute should identify up to five key priorities and submit projects accordingly.

Focus area: Communicable Diseases, Non-Communicable Diseases, or Reproductive, Child Health & Nutrition.

Funding: Up to 8 crores per project (for entire duration) and 30 crore per Institute (every year)

Duration: Maximum 4 years

Who can apply:

• Collaboration between other ICMR institutes or non-ICMR institutes is allowed under this grant.
• Scientists from other ICMR institutes or non-ICMR institutes can be included as Co-PI and share grant amount if necessary.

2. Early-career Small Research Support Grant or Ignition Grants

Criteria/ Purpose:

• Any scientist (B, C, D or E) who joined ICMR are eligible for a one-time special research grant to conduct research for a given year which may be within three years of joining. 
• This grant requires mentorship from a senior ICMR scientist (minimum Scientist E level) and a non-ICMR scientist.
• This seed grant aims to help newly recruited scientists establish themselves and secure future funding.
• Any scientist can apply for seed grant only once in her/his tenure in ICMR after joining a permanent position.

Funding: 30 lakhs per project

Duration: Maximum 3 years

Who can apply:

• A newly joined ICMR scientist can apply for seed grant only once in her/his tenure in ICMR after joining a permanent position within three years.
• Other scientists working in the same or other ICMR institutes or non-ICMR recognised Indian institutes are allowed to be associated as Co-investigators under this call.

3. Investigator-Initiated MedTech Development Grant

Criteria/ Purpose: To promote development of new technologies of public health or clinical importance.

Funding: 4 Crores per project

Duration: Maximum 2 years

4. Centre for Collaborative Research

Criteria/Requirements: For promoting collaborative research between ICMR-institute and other institutes having diverse research expertise.

Funding: 5 Crores per Centre

Duration: Maximum 5 years

B. ICMR Extramural Grants

Extramural Grants are ICMR’s flagship funding route for Indian scientists/researchers working in universities, medical colleges, research institutions and other organizations outside the ICMR system. ANVESHAN supports research at an earlier stage, while the follow-on grant is intended to continue promising work generated through the initial project. NISCHAYAK ANVESHAN is positioned for research that has progressed beyond proof of concept, while its follow-on mechanism supports continuity of promising research programmes. The current extramural framework includes the following research grants.

1. ICMR Small Extramural Grants (ANVESHAN Grants)

Criteria/Purpose:

• Multidisciplinary projects which aim to find solutions to priority disease and conditions will receive preference for funding.

Funding: Upto 2 crores per project

Duration: Maximum 3 years

2. ICMR Small Follow-on Extramural Grants (ANVESHAN Follow-on Grants)

Criteria/ Purpose:

• A project may produce a promising technology, dataset, intervention or research finding, but additional work may be necessary before it can be translated into practice.
• The ANVESHAN Follow-on Grant is intended to support beyond the initial grant cycle so promising research is not discontinued because of a funding gap.

Funding: Upto 2 crores per project

Duration: Maximum 3 years

3. ICMR Intermediate Extramural Grant (NISCHAYAK ANVESHAN Grants)

Criteria/ Purpose:

• This grant is intended for research that has moved beyond the initial idea or proof-of-concept stage.
• These projects are expected to address priority health problems through validation or evaluation of interventions for which proof of concept has already been demonstrated.
• The project should lead to significant contributions in generating effective interventions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation of those disease conditions.

Funding: Between 2-8 crores per project

Duration: Maximum 4 years

4. ICMR Intermediate Extramural Grant (NISCHAYAK ANVESHAN Follow-on Grants)

Criteria/ Purpose:

• ICMR also provides a Follow-on NISCHAYAK ANVESHAN Extramural Grant.
• It is intended to build on research leads generated through previous ICMR-supported work and provide continuity for promising research programmes.

Funding: Between 2-8 crores per project

Duration: Maximum 4 years

5. Investigator Initiated First in World Challenge (FIWC)

Criteria/ Purpose:

• This grant aims at unconventional and highly innovative ideas addressing difficult health problems.
• The programme supports futuristic research and the development of potentially breakthrough health technologies.
• To fund innovative ideas for finding solutions to difficult health problems and to foster novel, futuristic ideas, new knowledge generation, discovery/development of breakthrough health technologies

Funding: Up to 8 crores 

6. Investigator Initiated Centre for Advanced Research (CAR)

Criteria/ Purpose:`

• The Centre for Advanced Research (CAR) is intended for advanced research led by experienced research teams.
• The proposed CAR is expected to conduct decisive research that helps in solving an important healthcare problem by a research team.
• It can have single or multiple linked research projects with clear deliverables.

Funding: 15 crores per CAR

Duration: 5 years

7. Clinical Care Excellence Initiative

Criteria/ Purpose:

• ICMR also supports multicentre clinical trials addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
• The Clinical Care Excellence Initiative supports high-impact academic or non-regulatory randomized controlled trials requiring data from multiple sites to achieve statistical significance and generalizability.
• This opportunity is therefore most relevant to researchers with appropriate clinical research expertise and access to multiple participating sites.

Funding: 8 crores per project

Duration: 4 years

C. National Health Research Programme

Criteria/ Purpose:

• In addition to intramural and extramural grants, ICMR also supports projects under National Health Research Programme (NHRP).
• It is designed for large-scale, multi-centric research projects addressing nationally important health priorities.
• For each priority area, multiple projects can be funded.
• The focus will be to bring about significant and impactful improvement in the priority health challenges. ICMR currently identifies 11 priority areas:
• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
• One Health
• Tuberculosis
• Vector-borne Diseases
• Cancer
• Ambulatory Non-Communicable Disease Care
• Mental Health
• Anemia, Stunting and Wasting
• Neonatal Mortality
• Acute Emergency Care
• Oral Health

Funding: 25 Crores for each project. Funding will not be more than Rs 8 Crores per site.

Duration: Maximum 4 years, extendable by 1 year with due approval of competent authority. 

Who can apply:

Projects will be open for participation by ICMR as well as non-ICMR Indian scientists depending upon the project requirements.

D. ICMR Fellowships

ICMR’s funding ecosystem is not limited to research project grants. The ICMR Grants & Funding portal also includes Fellowships, which are intended to support biomedical research and strengthen the research capacity of Indian scientists. The ICMR fellowship section currently lists several researcher-development programmes, including:

1. Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (BRET), which replaced the earlier ICMR Junior Research Fellowship examination from the 2024 batch onward.
2. Nurturing Clinical Scientists Scheme
3. Post Doctoral Fellowship

1. Biomedical Research Eligibility Test

• Biomedical Research Eligibility Test (BRET) is a national entrance exam conducted to award Junior Research Fellowships (JRF) for Ph.D. programs in biomedical and health sciences.
• Candidates selected for BRET-JRF would be permitted to enroll themselves for the Ph.D. programme (the Ph.D. topic should be strictly pertaining to ICMR health research) of any University or government college recognized by the UGC/ or any medical college recognized by Medical Council of India (MCI) or 27 ICMR institutes/centers.
• A tentative total of 250 candidates shall be selected and the validity of result will be one year.
• PhD Registration certificate may be submitted within two years of joining.

Funding:

• 1^st year to 2^nd year- Rs. 37,000/-
• 3^rd year or upgraded as a SRF – Rs. 42,000/- (till submission of Ph.D. thesis)
• Contingent amount for JRF/SRF will be Rs. 20,000/- per annum.

Duration:

• JRF is for first two years.
• JRF may be upgraded as SRF after 22 months of commencement of work.
• SRF is for three years or submission of Ph.D. whichever is earlier.
• Total duration is five years.

2. Nurturing Clinical Scientists Scheme

• Nurturing Clinical Scientists (NCS) scheme is for fresh medical or dental graduate in India looking to build a career in research.
• Register for Ph.D. degree in the proposed Institute/Organization and submit the following documents within one year of Issue of NCS award letter by ICMR.
• This program has been merged with the “DHR-ICMR MD-PhD program” and no new calls are currently being advertised under this scheme.

Funding:

• Rs. 1 lakh per month (No HRA)
• Research Contingency – Rs. Three lakhs for three years (Rs. One lakh per year)

Duration: Maximum 3 years

3. Post Doctoral Fellowship

• ICMR Post Doctoral Fellowship is being instituted to foster high quality research opportunities to promising fresh Ph.D./ MD/MS holders in the cutting-edge areas of basic science, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and reproductive health.
• ICMR intends to offer fifty such fellowships every year for working in ICMR Institutes/Centers with state-of-art R&D facilities.
• ICMR invites applications for “ICMR Centenary-Post Doctoral Fellowship” from the fresh Ph.D./MD/MS within three years of completing their Ph.D./MD/MS degree (awarded) as on the last date of the application.
• Post doctoral proposed research work should be the continuation of the Ph.D. research work. If not, then the application will not be considered.
• PDF Guide should have the minimum designation of Scientist-C grade.

Funding: Rs. 65,000 per month + HRA and contingency grant of Rs. 3.0 lakhs per annum.

Duration: 2 to 3 years

How to Choose the Right ICMR Grant?

Choosing an funding opportunities under ICMR should not be based only on the amount of funding available. One should first consider the research stage, objectives, institutional eligibility, and alignment of the proposed work with the scope of the funding programme. The right grant should match both the maturity of the research idea and the researcher’s ability to deliver the proposed outcomes.

Consider the following factors before selecting an ICMR funding opportunity:

1. Identify the stage of your research

First, determine where your research currently stands. Is it a new research idea, an early-stage study, a proof-of-concept, a validated intervention, or an established research programme?

For example, early-stage research may be better suited to a small or seed-type funding opportunity, while research that has already demonstrated proof of concept may be appropriate for a larger validation or follow-on grant.

2. Check whether your research aligns with the grant

Each ICMR funding programme is designed for specific research objectives and health priorities. Therefore, researchers should carefully examine the research focus, priority areas, expected outcomes, and scope of the particular call.

A scientifically strong proposal may still be unsuitable if it does not address the objectives of the funding programme.

3. Check your eligibility

Before investing time in proposal preparation, verify whether you meet the eligibility requirements of the specific grant. Check factors such as:

• Institution and organizational eligibility
• Research experience or designation
• Eligibility of the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators
• Collaboration requirements
• Previous ICMR funding, where applicable
• Any specific qualifications or experience required by the call

Eligibility requirements can vary between funding programmes and individual calls.

4. Match the grant to the scale of the project

Consider the scale and complexity of your proposed research. A small investigator-led study, a technology-development project, a multicentre clinical study, and a large national research programme require different levels of funding and collaboration.

Therefore, the proposed budget, number of participating institutions, infrastructure requirements, research personnel, and expected outcomes should be appropriate for the selected funding mechanism.

5. Consider the expected outcome

Think about what your research is expected to deliver. Depending on the stage of the research, the outcome could include:

• Generation of new scientific knowledge
• Proof of concept
• Validation of an intervention
• Development of a technology
• Translation of an existing research finding
• Multicentre evidence generation
• A solution to a nationally important health problem

The expected outcome should closely match the purpose of the selected grant.

6. Check whether follow-on funding is appropriate

If your research has already generated promising findings, a follow-on funding opportunity may be more appropriate than starting a completely new project. Follow-on mechanisms are intended to provide continuity and further development of promising research generated through earlier work.

Researchers should therefore assess whether their existing results, technology, dataset, or intervention provides a suitable foundation for the proposed grant.

7. Read the latest call before applying

Finally, always refer to the latest ICMR funding call and official guidelines before preparing or submitting a proposal. Funding amounts, eligibility requirements, priority areas, application procedures, and timelines may change between calls.

Conclusion

Securing research funding is not simply about finding a grant with a large budget; it is about finding the right funding opportunity for the right research at the right stage of development. In short, the right ICMR grant is the one that matches your research question, research stage, institutional eligibility, project scale, and expected outcomes. The journey from a research idea to a meaningful scientific outcome often begins with the right funding opportunity. Once you have identified the right ICMR funding opportunity, the next step is to prepare a strong research proposal that meets the requirements of the specific call.

Keep exploring, keep refining your research ideas, and stay alert to the funding calls that can help transform those ideas into impactful research.

Happy Researching!

About The Author

Dr. Sowndarya S

Dr. Sowndarya is an independent researcher and content developer at iLovePhD.com. As an environmental engineer with a Ph.D. in wastewater treatment and reuse, she specialises in converting technical expertise into actionable solutions. Her research is focused on wastewater treatment and reuse, energy recovery, Photo-catalysis and one Indian patent has been granted for her research work.
She is passionate about guiding young researchers who are finding their footing in the early stages of their research journey. Through iLovePhD.com, Dr. Sowndarya creates research and publication-related blogs and videos that explain what is truly required in research — and what pitfalls to avoid.
Her motto is simple: Sharing real research experience with fellow scholars and budding young researchers through iLovePhD.com — a dedicated platform where researchers will find everything they need about research, all in one place.

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