Irani for national system of rankings of research institutions

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani today emphasised the need to have a national system of rankings which would serve as a benchmark for science education and research institutions.
Irani said this in a meeting with Directors and Chairpersons of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Institute of Science Education Research (IISER) here, a statement released by her ministry said.
"Addressing the meeting, the minister said it is very important to develop a national system of rankings which will work as a national benchmark for various science education and research institutions to achieve," the statement said.
This will help India compete at an international level "and we must give special attention to South-South collaboration", Irani added.

The minister also said that to increase international presence on campus, IISERs need more publicity and creation of brand value.
The Minister also emphasized the need to enhance the research quotient and shared her views about Rashtriya Avishakar Abhiyaan, the statement said.

She said IISc and IISERs need to have a robust interface with research and development of the industry. The Minister added that these institutes must promote international co-operation in critical areas like solar energy and plant genome/bio technology.
She suggested some areas of research with social impact such as pollution and impact on health, climate change and productivity. There should be scientific research to promote medical facilities for the common man, Irani said and suggested IISERs could form a consortia approach for such research initiatives.

The statement said Irani emphasised that to achieve their targeted goals, the institutes must follow a system of performance audit.