ICMR Funds Centre for Advanced Research (CAR)

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is an Autonomous Organization, under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India: ICMR is dealing with biomedical/ health research in various areas, in collaboration with National/ International agencies, through its Headquarters at New Delhi and 27 Institutes/ Centres and a large number of field stations, situated across the country.

Overview and Purpose :
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) funds Centre for Advanced Research (CAR) to promote advanced research by experienced research teams, under its Extramural Research Program.

What the CAR is expected to do : CAR is expected to conduct Decisive Research that helps in solving important public health problem. It encourages in-depth research, to generate new knowledge and solutions for health problems in multiple aspects of causation, progression, management and prevention. The proposal can have single or multiple linked research projects with clear deliverables. The research team should have demonstrated impact of their previous research related to the proposal. Multi-disciplinary research teams planning to undertake studies in finding solutions for prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment or rehabilitation of the following diseases or conditions will receive preference.

Duration of project and funding : The budget should be between INR 8 crores to less than INR 15 crores per CAR. Duration of project will be for a maximum period of five years.

How to apply
A proposal can be submitted for financial support through ONLINE MODE ONLY by the Principal Investigator on behalf of the proposed team of Scientists/ professionals who have a regular employment in Medical Institutes/ Research Institutes/ Universities/ Colleges/ recognized Research & Development laboratories/ Government and semi-government organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations. The research team should have credentials for relevant skills, experience and demonstrated ability to solve health problems under consideration.

Research teams with outstanding achievements, recognition and proven excellence in the area and having the necessary infrastructure to carry out further work are encouraged to apply.

The institute and principal investigator will be supported to establish CAR with an aim that the facility so created would continue to function even after this funding gets over. CAR should develop trained health research personnel. After completion of the project, the host institute would be expected to take over activities of the center as permanent activity.

Format for submission of Concept note for Centre for Advanced Research (CAR) :
1. Strength of Research Team :
a. Narrative description of skills and expertise of research team in the proposed area of research (300 words)
b. Maximum 10 publications/ Patents of PI and up to 4 other key investigators relevant to the area of proposed research in previous 10 years. (Also, please include h-index of PI and each of the investigators above.)
c. Impact of PI and/ investigators’ publications/ patents on clinical or public health. (300 words)
2. Concept note for Centre for Advanced Research (CAR) and criteria for evaluation:
i. Title of the Proposed Research/ CAR (up to 30 words): should be specific, concise and yet sufficiently descriptive and informative.
ii. Summary (up to 2000 words) :
A structured summary should contain the following subheadings:
a. Rationale/ gaps in existing knowledge (400 words),
b. Novelty (200 words)
c. Objectives (100 words)
d. Methods (750 words)
e. Expected outcomes (350 words)
f. Specific roles and responsibilities of the PI and other investigators based on their expertise (200 words).
Criteria Score

Experts will review and score each project proposal. The scoring criteria are as follows:
Strength of Research Team
Skill and Expertise of Research Team : 05
Relevant Publications or Patents : 10
Impact of Publications on Public Health or Clinical care : 10
Concept Note
Rationale and Novelty : 05
Appropriateness of Methods : 10
Expected Impact : 10
Total 50
Note : • h-index of PI is expected to be at least 20. Alternatively, PI may have multiple granted patents
• A full proposal will be requested to be submitted only for shortlisted concept notes. Template for the same is available in Annexure.

ANNEXURE 2 : Format for submission of Full proposal for Centre for Advanced Research
1. Title of the proposed research (up to 30 words): should be specific, concise and yet sufficiently descriptive and informative.
2. Summary (up to 2000 words): A structured summary should contain the following subheadings: Rationale/gaps in existing knowledge, Novelty, Objectives, Methods, and Expected outcome.
3. Does it cover a priority area? If yes please select the most appropriate one from the list below: Ref: Table-1
4. Keywords: Six key words separated by comma which best describe your project may be provided.
5. Abbreviations: Only standard abbreviations should be used in the text. List of abbreviations maximum often may be given as a list.
6. Problem Statement (up to 500 words): State the currently available information to present the problem adequately.
7. Rationale of the proposed research (up to 300 words): Mention how the research question addresses the critical barrier(s) in scientific knowledge, technical capability, and /or programmatic/ clinical/ lab practice and its relevance to local, national and international context with relevant bibliography.
8. Hypothesis/ Research questions (up to 100 words): Please provide details in PICO format as applicable.
9. Objectives of proposed research (up to 250 words/ objective): Define the objectives clearly and in measurable terms, mention as primary and secondary objectives, if necessary. Do not include more than 3-4 objectives. Provide specific, measurable and time bound outcomes for each objective.
10. Methodology of proposed research (Addition of Field for Picture): Include objective-wise work plan under the following sub-headings: a. Study design b. Study area (multiple choice): Community/ Hospital/ Laboratory c. Sample size estimation and sampling strategy d. Project implementation plan e. Design of statistical analysis

11. Expected outcomes/ Deliverables from the project i.e., what will be known at the end, if the project achieves all the stated objectives (up to 350 words)
12. Immediate next steps following the end of the project (up to100 words):
13. Whether the study is going to generate new intellectual property Please provide details
14. Timelines with achievable targets: GANTT/ PERT chart to be included.
15. Preliminary work done by the Investigators relevant to the proposal including the source of funding (up to 250 words) (Addition of Field for Picture):
16. Skill and experience of the research team: Highlight only salient points (along with 5 relevant publications) that provide confidence to reviewers that team can implement the project with quality:
17. Institutional Support/ Facilities: Share a brief note on inter-departmental or inter institutional collaboration needed for study implementation:
18. Specify the role and responsibility of PI and Co-Investigators:
19. Laboratory facilities (in-vitro / in-silico): Mention the institutional resources (such as animal house, instruments /equipment etc.) available for use in the proposed project for participating institutes:
20. Additional supplementary information including figures, tables, flow diagrams, data collection tool etc. can be shared as PDF (20-30KB).
21. Budget: Budget should be as per ICMR guidelines available on the website. Justifications for all sub-headings under budget (as per ICMR format) are to be provided in detail. Without appropriate justification, the project will not be considered for review.

Screening criteria and scores for Full Submission : *Proposed Research= single or multiple linked research projects with clear deliverables) The Scoring Criteria for Full proposals is as follows :
Rationale/ relevance and importance : 20
Possible impact expected : 25
Methodology : 30
Strength of Research Team(score same as that at given concept note stage) : 25
Total 100

Tentative Timeline :
Release of Call : 02nd July 2026
Last date for Submission of Concept Note : 31st August 2026; 17:00hrs
Review and Shortlisting : 30th September 2026
Full Proposal submission : 30th November 2026
Final Selection : 1st December – 31st January 2027