BRIC-National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute (BRIC-NABI) invites applications from outstanding scientists working abroad and are interested in applying under the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) Scheme 2026 in the Young Research Fellows, Senior Fellows and Research Chairs categories.
BRIC-NABI, an autonomous institute under the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, is dedicated to advancing agri-food biotechnology through translational research, biofortification, designer crops, and functional foods aimed at enhancing nutritional security and promoting sustainable food systems.
Scheme Overview and Objectives
• The Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. It aims to attract and engage leading Indian-origin researchers, scientists, and professionals from abroad and place them at premier government higher education institutions and national research laboratories in India to undertake cutting-edge research.
• The PMRC Scheme will contribute to strengthen India’s research value chain across 13 priority sectors (Annexure-1). It will enable high-impact research, innovation, and mentorship at selected government institutions. Thematic areas shall guide the design and implementation of research under the Scheme and will be reviewed periodically to ensure alignment with evolving national priorities and global standards.
• Anchored on three core pillars, namely Lead Institutions, Host Institutions, and PMRC Fellows, the Scheme will be operationalised through India’s leading government (Central and State) Higher 2 Prime Minister Research Chair Scheme– Call for Applications Education Institutions (HEIs), National Laboratories, and Research Institutes. They shall be identified by an Empowered Committee chaired by the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.
• One Lead Institution is designated for each thematic area. They will provide strategic direction, coherence, and quality assurance across the PMRC ecosystem, ensuring research under PMRC is mission-aligned, non-fragmented, and national impact oriented. Lead Institutions shall also be responsible for evaluating the readiness and suitability of prospective Host Institutions within their respective thematic areas.
• Eligibility for Host Institutions includes the following criteria
o Government HEIs in Top 100 in the NIRF Overall category
o Government HEIs in Top 100 in the NIRF Engineering category
o Government HEIs in Top 50 in the NIRF Research category
o National laboratories and research institutions under DBT, DST, CSIR, ICMR among others shall also be eligible
• Host Institutions demonstrating strong research, development, and innovation (RDI) environment, industry-academia linkages, history of commercializing patents, and strong institutional research support will engage PMRC Fellows. Host Institutions participating in the Scheme are expected to extend in-kind contributions, including but not limited to access to laboratories, libraries, research facilities, instrumentation, computational resources, collaborative academic environment, publication and institutional support. Open-access publication charges and cost of patenting arising from jointly produced research, development, and innovation (RDI) outputs may be enabled by the Host Institution.
• PMRC Fellows participate in approved thematically aligned RDI projects at their Host Institution, to strengthen India’s RDI ecosystem and contribute towards the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047.
The Scheme offers three levels of engagement to accommodate Fellows with wide experience levels :
o Young Research Fellows (YRF)
o Senior Fellows (SF)
o Research Chairs (RC)
Categories of Engagement
Over the next five years (2026-27 to 2030-31), the Scheme envisions engaging at least 120 distinguished researchers/scientists and professionals across the above-mentioned categories :
Young Research Fellows : Early-career researchers/ professionals with up to 5 years of post-PhD experience outside of India Senior Fellows : Mid-career researchers/ professionals with 5 to less than 10 years of post- PhD experience outside of India Research Chairs : Eminent researchers / professionals with 10 years or more of post-PhD experience outside of India
Note : The eligibility criteria for selection of researchers/professionals, projects, and institutes will be finalised by the Empowered Committee.
Who May Apply
Host Institutions
• Eligible Host Institutions shall include :
o Government Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) ranked among:
▪ Top 100 in the NIRF Overall category
▪ Top 100 in the NIRF Engineering category
▪ Top 50 in the NIRF Research category
o Identified national laboratories and research institutions under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), among others.
• Host Institutions are required to submit project proposals aligned with thematic areas. Multiple submissions across different themes can be submitted.
• The Host Institutions receive funding from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India to enable the Fellow(s) to conduct research. Host institutions shall disburse funds for the PMRC Fellow and their research activities as per approved pattern of scheme and endorsed by Empowered committee. The institution may also assist Fellows pursue impact- focused research resources to optimize the project outcome with other existing schemes such as the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and among others.
Fellows
• Eligible Fellow for the Scheme are: o Indian origin (Indian nationals, Overseas Citizens of India, or Persons of Indian Origin) researchers / scientists and professionals working at leading foreign HEIs, research laboratories, and research institutions, reputed companies and other industries. o The Fellowship is in-person and they will be expected to work at Host Institutions. The Scheme will support Fellows for a pre-determined period of duration, with a maximum tenure of 5 years based on performance of the candidate.
• Fellows must be able to demonstrate a distinguished track record in research, as evidenced by publications, patents, awards, citations, or other internationally recognised indicators of excellence. They must also be willing to commit to the prescribed engagement period and associated responsibilities including research, teaching, and mentorship. It should be noted that candidates currently based in India are also eligible, provided they meet the Indian-origin criterion and other requirements as determined by the Empowered Committee.
• PMRC Fellows will be expected to :
o Conduct original, high-impact research in the identified priority sector(s) in collaboration with the Host
o Teach and co-design courses, contributing to curriculum enrichment
o Mentor doctoral, postdoctoral, and postgraduate students and junior researchers
o Facilitate international collaborations, publications, and co-funded R&D projects
o Engage with industry partners to promote applied research and real-world adoption of research outcomes
o Ensure that research ideas translate into commercial products. The patents granted from work done under PMRC is of great importance so as to link research with industry-aligned innovation. They will be supported with patenting process chain.
o Submit periodic progress reports and participate in evaluations as stipulated by the Empowered Committee
How to Apply
For Host Institutions
• Interested institutions must submit project proposals in specified thematic areas through the official PMRC portal. Host Institutions can submit multiple applications across different thematic areas. The submission(s) should include:
o Institutional profile, research strengths, and existing infrastructure to support research in thematic area(s)
o Proposed thematic area(s) and research project description- especially why it is important for India’s growth, intended impact from the project, potential outcomes and methodological overview
o Details of the designated institutional liaison and Co-Principal Investigators
o Statement of institutional RDI strength, including co-funding, industry partnerships, patent history, student support, and research outputs
o Any existing collaborations relevant to the proposed thematic area
o Recommendations of (up to) 3 potential PMRC Fellows they are interested in hosting
For Fellows
• Candidates must submit an application through the official PMRC portal. The application must include the following:
o Curriculum vitae (including full list of publications, patents, awards, and international
engagements) and proof of past work and education
o Detail of Citizenship, VISA, and any other documents supporting domicile/residency
o Details of research outputs, patents granted and commercialized, and any other research/professional achievements aligned with a thematic area
o Details of the preferred Host Institution (if any), including the rationale for the choice
• The Empowered Committee may recommend high-calibre researchers and professionals to the Fellowship. These exceptional candidates would have the potential to significantly enhance the quality and nature of research, development, and innovation in specific thematic areas.
Key Outcomes
• Stronger academia-industry linkages fostered through sustained engagement, knowledge exchange, and co-designed research programmes.
• Enhanced domain knowledge and expertise in national R&D priority sectors.
• Enriched curriculum and teaching standards in STEM and applied research disciplines.
• Improved quality of research and academic output in Indian HEIs.
• Leading industry partners onboarded with different projects.
• Co-funded research projects undertaken by corporate partners and global fellows.
• Improvement in international research rankings of HEIs, along with increased patent filings by fellows and host institutions across national priority sectors
Theme
1. Advanced Materials, Rare-earth & Critical Minerals
2. Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change
3. Agri & Food Technologies
4. Semiconductors
5. Advanced Computing (Supercomputing, Al, Quantum Computing)
6. Healthcare & MedTech
7. Space and Defence
8. Next-Gen Communications, including Quantum Communication
9. Blue Economy
10. Cybersecurity
11. Manufacturing & Industry 4.0
12. Biotechnology
13. Atomic Energy
14. Any other project aligned with the National Missions
Interested candidates are requested to submit a research proposal (maximum 3 pages) along with their detailed curriculum vitae to edoffice@nabi.res.in on or before 2 July 2026.
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