Introduction
The Department of Science & Technology(DST) is a division under the Ministry of Science & Technology of India. It aims to promote fields of science & technology and serve as a core department in the country to organize, coordinate, promote and facilitate the activities of science & technology. DST has introduced different streams that developed themselves with focused goals and priorities as divisions or even ministries. Some of them include:
DBT (Department of Biotechnology)
DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research)
MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests)
MNRE (Ministry of New & Renewable Energy )
MoES (Department of Earth Sciences)
DoE (Department of Electronics)
Since its formation, it has introduced several programs towards the accomplishment of its goals. They include KVPY, Water Technology Initiative, Women scientist programs, Big data initiatives, Climate change programs, INSPIRE to name a few. Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) is one such program aiding scientific and technological development through infrastructural support.
There is a massive investment in creating science and technology infrastructure in the country, running into tens of thousands of crores of rupees every year. The Scheme “Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST)” is intended to provide basic infrastructure and enable facilities to promote R&D activities in new and emerging areas and attract fresh talents in universities & other educational institutions. It allows departments/ Centres/ Schools/ Colleges to pursue research activities more effectively and efficiently.
The goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat is also incorporated by creating an R&D infrastructure not only for R&D activities in academic organizations but also for use by the start-ups/ manufacturing industries/ MSMEs.
The beneficiary organizations are required to display a Public Notice exhibiting the FIST Logo and connect with the I-STEM (Indian - Science Technology and Engineering Facilities Map) portal to show the utility and availability of slots of different facilities in their premises.
Nature of Support: The Scheme provides optimal infrastructure facilities for post-graduate and higher research, such as:
the renovation of existing laboratory space (no fresh constructions) and cold room
modernization of laboratories involved in PG and higher research
acquisition of essential equipment
up-gradation of existing facilities, networking & computational facilities including software & databases, scientific & technical books
maintenance & refurbishing of existing and new facilities
The synergy and focus of research may preferably be aligned to National Missions/ priorities. The program intends to support the efforts of the Department as a whole or several faculty members in the Department. Proposal towards individual R&D support is not accepted under this Scheme.
DST Sponsored FIST lab
LC-MS System
Types of Support: Currently, there are four types of support corresponding to four different levels.
* only key criteria stated above, further eligibility criteria exist
For any subsequent cycle of FIST support following the 1st cycle of help at any level, all beneficiaries are considered for a repeat cycle of FIST support only after 10 years from the date of sanction of the immediately preceding project.
Altamira Catalyst Characterization Unit with Mass-Spectrometer at IIT Kanpur
You can also visit https://www.iitk.ac.in/july14che/fist-dst to see other equipment acquired by the chemical department at IITK under FIST.
Benefits and Limitations
Since its establishment in 2000, the FIST Programme has spread over 3000 Departments/ PG Colleges across the Nation. On an average of about 8,500 researchers use these facilities in centres spread all over India.
State-wise Distribution of Institutes/Universities & Departments
(No. of Universities[No of Departments])/PG college
Industries and start-ups involved in research and development, technology, and product development carry out most high-end experiments and testing of technologies from laboratories outside India.This is because they prefer not to buy equipment and infrastructure that are of limited usage to them. They are unable to access most of the high-end science and technology infrastructure set up in the universities and institutions.
FIST 2.0
The FIST programme is being reinvented as FIST 2.0 to orient it towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ to create research and development infrastructure not only for experimental work but also to cater to theoretical work, ideas and entrepreneurship. The S&T infrastructure network is now reaching out to more beneficiaries and focusing on alignment with some of the National Missions and Sustainable Development Goals and towards technology translational research promoting different start-ups and industries.
This will encourage Indian-origin researchers in research organizations worldwide and resident counterparts to explore collaborative joint ventures to strengthen India's science and technology base. It will also enrol the industry in research and development endeavours to bring about direct benefits for society.
Conclusion
FIST has successfully aided the development of premier research institutes of the nation for over two decades. Now keeping up with the national requirements, it has shifted its focus to industrial research growth. The program will directly collaborate with other programs like Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes (SATHI) and Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facilities (SAIF) too. Keeping up with the overall national development goals like Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Startup India FIST will play a crucial role in expanding research and industrial output in India.
