Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Research Programme 2019: DST Project Call

Indo- Sri Lanka Joint Research Programme

CLOSING DATE – 04 NOVEMBER 2019

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Research (MSTR), Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India concluded a Programme of Cooperation (PoC) in Science and Technology, on August 14th 2019.

In terms of the PoC, funding can be made available for selected Joint Projects and Workshops in bilateral mode
involving scientist & technologists from Sri Lanka and India, in the following areas:

a. Food Technology
b. Plant base medicines
c. Metrology
d. Space Research & Applications
e. Robotics & Automation
f. Industrial Electronics
g. Renewable Energy
h. Waste Management
i. Information and Communication Technology
j. Any other project with national relevance (with Justifications)

The MSTR and DST (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementing Agencies”) hereby invite Sri Lankan and Indian scientists/researchers to submit proposals for Joint Research Projects and Bilateral Workshops in any of the above areas in terms of the provisions herein set out.

(A) APPLICATIONS
(1) An Application shall –
a) be for a Joint Research Project or a Workshop as herein provided
b) be made simultaneously by a counterpart Team in each country as hereinafter provided
c) be made by the Leader of a team of scientists in each country (Team Leader), to the respective Implementing Agency of his/her country, simultaneously. Both Applications shall be identical. Since all projects are joint projects, it is expected that consultations would have been held between relevant counterpart Institutions in the other country
prior to the submission of an Application
d) be in English and shall be in the Form prescribed by the relevant Implementing Agency
e) be required to be submitted by the dates set out below

(2) Applications are required to be submitted as follows For Sri Lanka applicants
a) The completed Application Form and all relevant, clearly labeled attachments should be
forwarded in a single email to reach to the following addresses by November 4th , 2019- email address: motrtrd@gmail.com
b) Six (06) hard copies should be forwarded to the relevant Implementing Agency by November 30th, 2019

For India Applicants
Interested applicants should:
a) Submit their proposals on format available at www.onlinedst.gov.in by 5:30pm on
November 4, 2019. After registration, they should move to scheme and format section
where details about this call would be available in the International Cooperation (bilateral).
Applicants are also requested to submit one hard copy to DST by November 30, 2019 on
address given on contact details below.
b) Applicants should ensure that their applications with identical titles has been submitted
by their Sri Lanka partners to the Ministry of Science, Technology & Research by due date.
c) Only applications endorsed by the competent authority will be accepted.
d) Applications which are not submitted on online portal will not be accepted.

(3) An Application shall be rejected if –
(a) the Application required to be submitted by email and the hard copies thereof are not received by the respective Implementing Agency by the dates set out in paragraph 2 above
(b) It is not in the Format prescribed by the relevant implementing Agency : or
(c) It is incomplete and does not contain the information required to be submitted in terms of the prescribed Form to enable an assessment to be conducted.
(4) An email acknowledging receipt of the application will be provided to the applicant within 5 working days by the receiving Implementing Agency.

(B) BI- LATERAL WORKSHOPS
(1) Requirements of Workshops
A Bilateral Workshop Shall –
a) be on a theme which falls within any of the above area
b) should have a co- organizer from India and Sri Lanka
c) should be for participants from both countries. It is expected that the host country
will have a large number of participants than from the visiting country.
(2) Financial support available
Funding will cover the following expenses –
a) International return economy airfare for participants will be met by the sending country.
b) Local hospitalities including accommodation, local transport and per diem etc. for visiting scientists will be met by the host country
c) Local Organizational expenses (as per recommendation of assessment committee) will be met by the host country
d) The medical and travel insurance of the visiting participants will be met by the sending country
(“Host Country” is the country in which the workshop will be held: “sending country” is the country from which participants will be sent to attend the workshop.)

(C) JOINT RESEARCH PROJECTS
(1) Requirements of Research Projects
a) Research Projects should be carried out jointly by research teams from both countries.
b) Each country should have a team with a Team Leader. The Team Leader should be one who holds a full time position at a University or Research Institution in the respective Country.
c) The duration of each project should be two years initially. After the completion of this period, an application for an additional one year may be considered on the merit of the progress. (Applicants are advised to submit only one project against this call.)

(2) Financial Support available
The funding will cover the following expenses in connection with a project up to a limit agreed upon by each Implementing Agency –
a) Research Expenses : Expenditure by the project team in their country in respect of consumables will be borne by the respective country
b) Exchange of visits for research projects : in the event that a research project provides for the exchange of visits by scientist, experts or students –
(i) The cost of international air travel (up to the airport nearest to project location) and overseas medical insurance for a visiting scientist/expert/student shall be borne by the sending implementing Agency.
(ii) The cost of furnished accommodation, transport and per diem at a mutually agreed rate will be provided by the Receiving implementing Agency, for the approved duration of the visit.
c) Human Resource Expenses: in the event that a Junior or senior Research Fellow/Research Assistant and/or Technical Assistant is employed for the implementation of the project, an agreed remuneration will be borne by the
respective Implementing Agency

[D] ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS
1. The following procedure will be followed in assessing valid Applicationsa. All valid Applications will be submitted for peer review process and shall be referred to an
independent Advisory Panel thereafter for rating in terms of the criteria set out in paragraph (e) below.

b. Applications that attain a positive rating will be eligible to be considered for funding

c. A Joint Committee comprising representative of the implementing Agencies will, upon a consideration of the rating, determine which proposals will receive funding. Such a decision will
also take into account the funding available.

d. Decisions made by the Joint Committee shall be final.

e. The criteria that will be taken into consideration for rating are the followingi. Conformity of the project objectives with national policy

ii. State of scientific research capacity

iii. Rationale for cooperation

iv. Novelty of scientific research and engineering

v. Benefits of project including:
a. Industrial development

b. Technology capacity building

c. Science and technology human resource development

d. Possible commercialization of research results

vi. Intellectual property : usage and ownership

vii. Budget requested

viii. Approval and support by host institutions

ix. Feasibility of project; and

x. Profile of Team Leaders

2. Where an Application is selected for funding support, the respective Implementing Agencies will notify the Team Leader of the project, accordingly.

The following may be connected for further details and clarifications,
if any For Sri Lanka :

Ms. Himali W. K. Athaudage
Director (International Relations)
Technology and Research Development Division
Ministry of Science, Technology and Research
3rd Floor, Sethsiripaya, Phase 1, Battaramulla,
Sri Lanka
Telephone:+94 112863324 / +94 112867639
Fax :+94 112879376
E mail : motrtrd@gmail.com
URL : www.mostr.gov.lk

For India :
Dr. Sulakshana Jain
Scientist ‘D’
International Bilateral Division
Department of Science and Technology,
Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road,
New Delhi – 110 016, India
Telephone: +94-11-26590582
Fax : +91-11-26862418
E mail : jain.s@nic.in
URL : www.dst.gov.in

Last Date: 4 Nov 2019

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