The Board will seek to enhance the level of basic research and also impart necessary autonomy, flexibility and speed in shaping research and delivery of funds to researchers.
This was decided at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Briefing reporters, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the Board will be a high-level empowered body with necessary administrative and financial autonomy chaired by Secretary of Department of Science and Technology.
The Board can sanction individual projects up to Rs 75 crore with the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology. He said that on policy matters, the Board will receive necessary guidance from an Oversight Committee chaired by a scientist of international repute.
The need for having such a body was felt in view of rapid changes in the basic scientific research at the global level with increasing competition every day, he said.
A Science and Engineering Research Bill will be introduced in Parliament and the Board will be constituted under the Act, he said.
The Cabinet also approved a Planning Commission proposal to set up a Coodinated Mechanism for skill development encompassing different public and private initiatives, Chidambaram said.
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He said while the ministries and various departments would continue to be responsible for the skill development programmes under them, the National Skill Development Corporation will take care of the skill development in the private sector.
The Finance Minister said coordinated action would aim at creating a pool of skilled personnel in appropriate numbers with adequate skills in line with the employment requirements across the country.
Special emphasis would be laid on nearly two dozen high-growth high-employment sectors including automobile, banking, insurance, construction, pharmaceuticals, food processing, textile and tourism.
The Finance Minister said that Rs 1,000 crore has been provided for the initiative and the amount would subsequently go up to Rs 15,000 crore.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to relax the guidelines under the Backward Regions Grant Funds (BRGF) for Jharkhand which will enable the state to implement certain programmes, Chidambaram said.
He said since no panchayat elections had been held in the state, it was not getting assistance under BRGF. The relaxation would apply till the time the state constituted the panchayats.