PIB Delhi – Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is implementing Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI) to foster the research in this highly interdisciplinary area by combining ideas, principles and methods of psychology, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, etc. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in last five years, 115 individual projects, 39 Post-Doctoral Fellowships and 20 Conferences/Seminars/Workshops have been supported under CSRI.
More than 130 research papers have been published in peer reviewed journals in projects supported. Further, a National Neuroimaging Facility has been established at University of Allahabad with CSRI support. The Department has spent around Rs.103 crores to support various activities under CSRI in last five years. In last five years, around 153 projects have been supported in 18 states/UTs. The details of state/UT wise beneficiaries are mentioned below:
| States/UTs | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| Assam | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| Chandigarh | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chhattisgarh | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| Delhi | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Gujarat | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Haryana | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | – |
| Jammu & Kashmir | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Jharkhand | – | 1 | |||
| Karnataka | 11 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| Kerala | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1 | ||||
| Maharashtra | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Punjab | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Tamil Nadu | – | 2 | 1 | 3 | – |
| Telangana | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| West Bengal | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 39 | 44 | 30 | 26 | 14 |
The Department has started multi-centric research projects in different thematic areas to increase the number of research proposals for financial support under the Cognitive Science Research Initiative. The Department of Science and Technology is collaborating with various national institutions working in the domain of cognitive science to improve the research opportunities. Some of the notable institutions are National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore; National Brain Research Centre, Manesar; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; Shree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences & Technology, Trivandrum; Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur; Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad; All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru; Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata; etc.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
