Empowerment and Equity Opportunities for Excellence in Science


Objective:
The Empowerment and Equity Opportunities for Excellence in Science (EMEQ) scheme is aimed at providing research support to researchers belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe in undertaking research in frontier areas of science and engineering.


Eligibility:

  • The applicant should be an Indian National.
  • Should be an active researcher belonging to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe category working on regular basis in an academic institutions/national lab or any other recognized R&D institutions in the field of Science and Engineering.
  • The applicant should hold Ph.D. degree in Science or Engineering or M.D. / M.S. / M.D.S. / M.V.Sc. degree.
  • The applicant should have at least four years of service remaining before superannuation as on the date of submission of the proposal.
  • Researchers/Scientists who have ongoing project under EMEQ scheme as on the date of submission of the proposal are not eligible to apply.
  • Co-Investigators are not allowed in the scheme
  • An investigator will be allowed to avail EMEQ project for a maximum of three times in their career


Nature of Support:

  • Funding is provided up to a maximum of Rs. 50.0 lakh (excluding overhead charges).
  • The research grant will cover equipment, research personnel, consumables, travel and contingency. Overheadswill be provided as per prevailing norms of SERB.
  • Duration of the project shall be for a maximum of three years.


Plagiarism:
Proposals submitted need to be original and plagiarism in any form will not be acceptable. All submitted proposals would be subjected to a third-party similarity check and proposals are liable to be rejected if found plagiarised. Any text taken verbatim from other source needs to be identified using quotation marks and proper reference. Applicants are requested to pre-check their proposals for plagiarism before uploading to avoid any serious repercussions at a later stage.

Scientific Social Responsibility:
SERB has adopted Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy to imbibe a culture of social commitment among SERB Grantees. The policy intends to effectively utilize scientific infrastructure and expertise of SERB grantees to benefit other S&T stakeholders especially the less-endowed researchers and the society. SERB Grantees need to undertake some SSR activities during their project period. SSR activities need to be chosen during submission process. Depending on the activities chosen additional budget would be provided under separate head to carry out the chosen activities.

Mode of Application and Selection:

  • The call for applications will be made once a year and will be notified through the websites www.serbonline.in and www.serb.gov.in. The project proposal should be prepared according to the guidelines and submitted online through the website www.serbonline.in
  • The selection will be based on the recommendations of a Task Force Committee that will be constituted by the Board. If desired by the Committee, the applicants may be called for personal discussion.


How to apply online:
For online submission of the application the following points may be noted:
  • Applicant(s) should first register into the online website click here to register
  • After log-in, applicants are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile, which includes Bio data, photo, Institute Address, etc.
  • Some of the details of your proposal like Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of project (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Budget (Research Personnel,Consumables,Travel, Equipment, Contingency, Overheads ) have to be entered at the time of proposal submission.
  • Other relevant information of the proposal has to be uploaded as a single PDF file, not more than 10 MB, as technical document (TD) Download Template

Documents Required (in PDF format)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q1: Can I apply for EMEQ Opportunities after my superannuation in academic institutions/national labs or any other recognized R&D institutions in the field of Science and Engineering?

A1: No.The applicant should have at least four years of service remaining before superannuation as on the date of submission of the proposal.

 

Q2: I am working abroad as post-doc, and I want to return to India. I intend to apply for EMEQ. But I have not yet finalized my place of work. Am I eligible to apply under the scheme?

A2: No. The applicant should be an active researcher belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category working on regular basis in academic institutions/national labs or any other recognized R&D institutions in the field of Science and Engineering.

 

Q3: Can I apply for a project under EMEQ scheme when I am already implementing another project (such as EMR) of SERB?

A3: Yes

 

Q4: Can I apply for a project under EMEQ scheme when I am already implementing another project within the same scheme in SERB?

A4: No. Researchers/Scientists who are running an ongoing project under this program as on the date of submission of the proposal, are not eligible to apply.

 

Q5: Is there any specific time-line for applying proposals under this scheme?

A5: The project proposals for consideration under EMEQ scheme can be submitted only when the call for proposal is made. The call will be made in the website www.serbonline.in and www.serb.gov.in

 

Q6: What is the maximum amount of the grant the Board will fund?

A6: The funding is provided up to a maximum of Rs. 50.0 lakh (excluding overhead charges) for a period not exceeding three years. The budget should be proposed based on the requirement for the successful implementation of the project. The final decision regarding the budget will be made by the Task Force Committee.

 

Q7: Can I have a Co-PI in EMEQ project?

A7: No

 

Q8: I belong to OBC category. Can I apply under EMEQ Scheme?

A8: No. This scheme is specially meant to support scientists belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe only.

 

Q9: If I am from the SC/ST category, am I eligible to apply only in EMEQ and not in EMR scheme?

A9: You are eligible to apply in both the schemes provided the proposals are distinctly different.

 

Q10: Does the Board have any priority areas for funding under EMEQ scheme?

A10: No. The Board funds all the areas of Science and Engineering without discriminating any discipline. Research proposals outside the normal activities of such institutions (i.e. National R&D Programs, Programs in newly emerging and front-line areas of research etc.) will be preferred. Further, proposals involving purely survey-oriented work and routine studies will not be normally considered.The proposal will be funded if it has novelty and the investigator has the competence to execute the project.

 

Q11: Does the Board allow to travel abroad under EMEQ scheme?

A11: International travel is not supported under the EMEQ project.

 

Q12: Do I need to provide any special document/certificates for project involving Recombinant DNA work or experiments with human/animal material or Earth science under this grant?

A12: The following documents should also be included along with the proposal

  • Projects which involve Recombinant DNA work should be examined and certified by Institutional Biosafety Committee.
  • Projects, which are clinically oriented or projects, which involve experiments with human and/or animal material, should be examined and certified by Institutional Ethics Committee.
  • Proposals in the area of Earth Sciences should contain the geological map of the region to be studied.

 

Q13: Does SERB discriminate Project Investigators working in Private Universities/Institutions in funding?

A13: No. SERB does not discriminate Project Investigators working in Private Universities/Institutions. Funding decisions are made based on merit of the proposal, competence of the Investigator(s), and the infrastructure available in the implementing institution, and not on the category of institutions the Investigator is working.