General & Technical Inquiries
Find clarification on key questions asked by researchers and institutions regarding the STARS Scheme:
1. What does STARS primarily support?
The STARS program supports projects that further its mission of promoting translational, India-centric research in six basic thrust areas. The main idea is to identify a societally relevant problem and formulate the scientific questions that need to be addressed.
2. Who is eligible to be a Principal Investigator (PI)?
Permanent faculty members from "Eligible Institutes" (CFI / CFTI institutes, Central Universities, and Non-MoE institutions with NIRF top 100 ranking or NAAC 3.26+ score) are eligible to be a PI.
3. Can students, postdocs, or technical staff submit a proposal?
No. Only permanent faculty members of eligible institutions can submit proposals as PIs.
4. Can foreign citizens submit proposals?
Only if they are permanent faculty members of eligible Indian institutions.
5. Can a proposal have multiple PIs?
For each proposal, there will be one lead PI and zero, one, or more Co-PIs.
6. Can Co-PIs be from a foreign institution?
No. Co-PIs must be permanent faculty members in an Indian institution.
7. Who is eligible to receive funds as a Co-PI?
Permanent faculty from any Indian institution can participate as Co-PIs. However, for a Co-PI's institution to directly receive grant funds, it must independently meet the CFI or NAAC 3.26+ criteria. Collaborators from non-eligible institutions can participate without grant allocations.
8. What are the maximum grant funding limits?
Up to ₹50 Lakhs for single-PI projects, and up to ₹100 Lakhs for projects involving multiple PIs / collaborating institutions.
9. What is the duration of a research project?
Research projects are supported for a maximum duration of 3 years.
10. Can I submit more than one proposal in the same call?
You can be a PI on a maximum of one proposal, and a Co-PI on a maximum of two proposals in the same funding cycle.
11. Can I submit a project that is already under consideration for publication?
No. Projects where the proposed research has already been circulated as a paper or submitted for publication are not eligible.
12. What should I do if my project requires Institutional Biosafety (IBSC) approval?
An IBSC clearance certificate from the institute where experiments are carried out must be provided. If clearance is pending during submission, a certificate stating that an application has been submitted must be uploaded. Sanctioned funds will only be released upon receipt of the final clearance certificate.
13. Should both PI and Co-PIs upload endorsement letters?
Yes. Separate endorsement letters signed by the respective Heads of Organizations (Registrar, Director, or Vice-Chancellor) must be uploaded by the PI and each Co-PI.
14. How are funds disbursed between participating institutions?
All funds are disbursed directly to the lead PI's institution. The PI's institution is responsible for transferring pre-agreed sub-budgets to eligible Co-PI institutions.