Patna: The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has expanded its research grants, training programmes and institutional support for teachers, students and researchers in Bihar, with a focus on strengthening social science research and promoting Indian perspectives.At a meeting held at Bihar Lok Bhavan on Thursday, ICSSR member secretary Dhananjay Singh outlined various schemes and financial assistance available to scholars and urged universities and colleges to make greater use of them.Additional chief secretary to the governor Deepak Kumar Singh welcomed the initiative, saying closer coordination among universities, colleges and research institutions was essential to building a stronger research ecosystem in Bihar.He announced that a six-day research methodology training workshop for young university teachers will be held from Sept 12 to 17. The programme will be jointly organised by ICSSR, the higher education department and the ICSSR-recognised Institute for Human Development (IHD).Singh highlighted the CAG-ICSSR Research Article Writing Competition, which offers a combined prize pool of nearly Rs 1 crore at the state and national levels.He also outlined the ICSSR Young Research Talent Scheme 2026-27, themed “Youth and Decolonisation”. Under the initiative, fourth-year students enrolled in four-year undergraduate programmes will undertake research projects in teams under expert guidance, with financial assistance of up to Rs 3 lakh per project.The meeting also discussed research methodology courses for undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and post-doctoral scholars, as well as capacity-building programmes for young teachers covering research methods, academic writing, ethics and Indian approaches to social sciences.Singh assured full financial and institutional support for promising research proposals from Bihar.—
