Modi govt’s mobility scheme will allow women scientists to seek transfers from an institution in one city to a different institution in another city if they have to move for family reasons
New Delhi : The Modi government has unfolded an innovative mobility scheme to accommodate women scientists in the select government research institutions by transferring them to their choice of place for personal reasons, including those who had breaks in career because of family reasons such as child birth forcing them to leave the job or husband’s posting away from their place of employment.
The scheme has been aptly named as Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (Kiran), giving a new ray of confidence to the women scientists and ensuring them the gender parity in science and technology institutions. Announcing the scheme, science and technology minister Jitendra Singh said it was conceived as “we don’t want to lose the expertise and the talent of our women scientists.” The ministry will seek to institutionalise the initiative in all research institutions run by three government agencies — the department of science and technology (DST), the department of biotechnology (DBT) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
While the DST already has a special scholarship scheme that provides opportunities to women scientists who have had breaks in careers because of family reasons, senior officials said Kiran would be broader with new features.
The mobility scheme will allow women scientists to seek transfers from an institution in one city to a different institution in another city if she has to move for family reasons. The government hopes several hundred women will seize the opportunity over the next three to five years.
The scheme was conceptualised after a DST survey found that many talented women leave research after obtaining PhD degrees. While nearly 50 per cent of PhD scholars in the sciences in India are women, the proportion of women scientists in research institutions or in faculty positions is about 20 per cent.
Singh also made it mandatory for all government scientists working in DST, DBT and CSIR institutions to spend at least 12 hours a year delivering lectures to students in schools and colleges.
“This will be mandatory, a part of their duties — we’re doing this in the interest of nation-building,” Singh said.
“We have highly accomplished scientists in our laboratories. We want them to inspire students into taking up careers in sciences,” he said.
There are an estimated 5,400 scientists engaged in research in the government institutions. He added that the scientists, who were mostly confined to their labs, would be able to share their talent and experience for free as part of their duties to inculcate the scientific temper among the students.
“The programme shall be reviewed annually and we shall present a report card to the nation,” he said.
