Kolkata: The state Science & Technology and Biotechnology department is providing Rs 15 crore to the educational institutions across the state for augmenting facilities of research. The grant will vary from the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
“In the case of schools that need to develop their laboratories extensively, we will be providing upto Rs 5 lakh. For those which have some facilities but want to boost them further, we will be giving Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh depending upon the nature of work. In case of universities, the allocation may go up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh while in colleges it can be a maximum of Rs 25 lakh, “ said Ujjal Biswas, minister in-charge of Science & Technology and Biotechnology department on the sidelines of the 32nd West Bengal State Science and Technology Congress 2025 that is held annually in order to encourage and provide a forum for scientific research, especially for young scientists and to synergise new ideas with societal needs.
The department seeks applications from educational institutions across the state and provides the financial assistance for research pursuits. In its efforts to encourage research and innovation, the department is developing a portal where research works available with the department will be uploaded providing free of cost access for the researchers.
“Presently, we have 687 research papers in our repertoire which we will be uploading online through a portal. Researchers will be able to access them free-of-cost and will be encouraged by going through such quality result work,” said Vijay Bharti, Secretary of the department while addressing the inaugural session of the three-day West Bengal State Science and Technology Congress (WBSS&TC).
More than 2200 abstracts covering 12 broad disciplines were submitted for presentation in the seven Regional Science and Technology Congresses 2024-25. A total of 216 scientific abstracts were selected from these Congresses to participate in the WBSS&TC 2025. The successful presenters will be showcasing their work at the State level during the three-day event.
Stressing upon the fact that research should focus on outcome, Bharti said that the department is coming up with policies like Geo Spatial Policy and Research and
Development policy.