Wed Mar 26 16:06:49 UTC 2025: ## Kerala Chief Minister Highlights Funding Crisis in Indian Research

**Thiruvananthapuram, March 26, 2025** – Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented the prestigious Kairali Research Awards Wednesday, highlighting a critical funding shortage plaguing India’s research sector. He lamented the disparity between India’s meager 0.6% GDP allocation to research and the approximately 3% dedicated by developed nations. Vijayan also voiced concern over the misuse of research funds for political agendas rather than scientific advancement, and the decline in research fellowships and stipends offered by the central government over the past five years.

The Kairali Global Lifetime Achievement Prize for Researchers was awarded to three distinguished individuals: polyglot Chathanath Achuthanunni (arts and humanities), scientist P.P. Divakaran (science), and scholar K.P. Mohanan (social science). Additional Kairali Lifetime Achievement Prizes were bestowed upon writer B. Rajeevan, theoretical chemist K.L. Sebastian, and historian Kesavan Veluthat. Awards were also presented for postdoctoral research and teacher-led research. Higher Education Minister R. Bindu presided over the ceremony.

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