Anusandhan National Research Foundation Regulations, 2025

[31st January 2025]

PREAMBLE

In exercise of the powers conferred by clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 (25 of 2023), the Executive Council with the approval of the Central Government, hereby makes the following regulations, namely:-

CHAPTER 1 PRELIMINARY

Regulation 1. Short title and commencement.

(1)     These regulations may be called the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Regulations, 2025.

(2)     They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

Regulation 2. Definitions.

(1)     In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(a)      "Act" means the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 (25 of 2023);

(b)      "agreement" means the agreement made between the Executive Council and one or more persons or organisations receiving financial assistance governing the terms and conditions of the grant;

(c)      "consultant" means a person engaged under sub-section (5) of section 11 of the Act;

(d)      "Form" means Form annexed to these regulations;

(e)      "President" means the president to the Governing Board; and

(f)       "visiting scientist" means a person engaged under sub-section (5) of section 11 of the Act.

(2)     Words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Act and rules made thereunder shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in the Act and the said rules, as the case may be.

CHAPTER 2 PROCEDURE FOR MEETING OF GOVERNING BOARD

Regulation 3. Meetings of Governing Board.

(1)     The Governing Board shall meet at least once a year for the transaction of business.

(2)     The Member Secretary of the Governing Board or in his absence, Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Science and Technology, shall convene the meetings of the Governing Board.

(3)     The meetings of the Governing Board shall be held at such time and place as may be specified in the notice convening the meeting.

(4)     The President, in case of urgency at any time may call a meeting of the Governing Board at short notice and for such meetings, there shall be no requirement of quorum.

(5)     Notwithstanding anything contained in this regulations, the President shall take decision on urgent matters, when it is not possible to call a meeting of the Governing Board, and such decisions shall be placed beforethe Governing Board for its approval at its next meeting.

Regulation 4. Notice.

At least seven days before any meeting of the Governing Board, notice of the time and place of the intended meeting signed by the Member Secretary shall be sent to every Member by electronic or any other means to the address of every Member.

Regulation 5. Quorum.

(1)     No business shall be transacted at a meeting of the Governing Board unless there are present at such meeting at least one-third of the Members.

(2)     If at any time, the number of the Members at a meeting is less than the number of the members specified in the sub-regulations (1), the person presiding shall adjourn the meeting to a date not later than seven days from the date of such meeting after informing the Members of the date, time and place of the adjourned meeting and it shall thereupon be lawful for the person presiding at such adjourned meeting to dispose of the business intended to be transacted at the meeting, irrespective of the number of the members present.

Regulation 6. Agenda.

(1)     The Member Secretary with prior approval of the President shall prepare the agenda and circulate it to every Member of the Governing Board at least seven days before a meeting of the Governing Board.

(2)     No business not included in the agenda shall be transacted at a meeting of the Governing Board, except with the permission of the President, and in his absence, any Vice-President, who presides over such meeting:

provided that it shall be lawful to amend or add to the agenda subsequent to its issue.

Regulation 7. Decisions by the Governing Board.

(1)     All matters brought before any meeting of the Governing Board shall be decided by consensus and in case of lack of consensus on any matter, the decision of the President or the Vice President, presiding over the meeting shall be final.

(2)     The decision of the President in regards to all matters of procedure shall be final.

Regulation 8. Leave of absence.

The Governing Board may grant leave of absence to a Member not present in the meeting; such leave of absence shall be recorded in the minutes of meeting.

Regulation 9. Record of business.

(1)     The minutes of every meeting of the Governing Board shall be prepared by the Member Secretary of the Governing Board and the minutes shall be duly maintained in both electronic and physical form.

(2)     A copy of draft minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the Governing Board shall be circulated as soon as possible for confirmation by the Members.

(3)     The minutes of every meeting of the Governing Board shall be approved by the President or any of the VicePresidents, presiding over such meeting, and the approved record of business shall be submitted to the Governing Board at its next meeting.

Regulation 10. Business by circulation.

(1)     When any business is transacted by circulation of documents, whether electronically or otherwise, the Member Secretary of the Governing Board shall prepare a record of the business so transacted for approval by President of the Governing Board directing the circulation.

(2)     A record shall be maintained by the Member Secretary of items of business transacted by the Governing Board thereof.

Regulation 11. Disclosure of interest by Members.

Every Member of the Governing Board, who is directly or indirectly concerned or interested in any business coming up for consideration at a meeting of the Governing Board, shall, as soon as possible, after the relevant circumstances have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature of his interest at such meeting and such disclosure shall be recorded in the proceedings of the Governing Board and the Member shall not take part in any deliberation or decision of the Governing Board, as the case may be, with respect to that business.

CHAPTER 3 PROCEDURE FOR MEETING OF EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Regulation 12. Meetings of Executive Council.

(1)     The Executive Council shall meet as often as necessary (but not less than twice a year) for the transaction of business.

(2)     The Member Secretary of the Executive Council or in his absence, any other Member nominated by the Chairperson, may convene the meetings of the Executive Council.

(3)     The meetings of the Executive Council shall be held at such time and place as may be specified in the notice convening the meeting.

(4)     The Chairperson, in case of urgency at any time may call a meeting of the Executive Council at short notice and for such meetings, there shall be no requirement of quorum.

(5)     Notwithstanding anything contained in this regulations, the Chairperson shall take decision on urgent matters, when it is not possible to call a meeting of the Executive Council, and such decisions shall be placed before the Executive Council for its approval at its next meeting.

Regulation 13. Notice.

At least seven days before any meeting of the Executive Council, notice of the time and place of the intended meeting signed by the Member Secretary shall be sent to every Member by electronic or any other means to the address of every Member.

Regulation 14. Quorum.

(1)     No business shall be transacted at a meeting of the Executive Council unless there are present at such meeting at least one-third of the Members.

(2)     If at any time, the number of the Members at a meeting is less than the number of the members specified in the sub-regulations (1), the person presiding shall adjourn the meeting to a date not later than seven days from the date of such meeting after informing the Members of the date, time and place of the adjourned meeting and it shall thereupon be lawful for the person presiding at such adjourned meeting to dispose of the business intended to be transacted at the meeting, irrespective of the number of the members present.

Regulation 15. Agenda.

(1)     The Member Secretary with prior approval of the Chairperson shall prepare the agenda and circulate it to every member of the Executive Council at least seven days before a meeting of the Executive Council.

(2)     No business not included in the agenda shall be transacted at a meeting of the Executive Council, except with the permission of the Chairperson, and in his absence, any member, who presides over such meeting:

provided that it shall be lawful to amend or add to the agenda subsequent to its issue.

Regulation 16. Decisions by the Executive Council.

(1)     All matters brought before any meeting of the Executive Council shall be decided by consensus and in case of lack of consensus on any matter, the decision of the Chairperson, or the Member presiding over such meeting, shall be final.

(2)     The ruling of the Chairperson in regards to all matters of procedure shall be final.

Regulation 17. Leave of absence.

The Executive Council may grant leave of absence to a Member not present in the meeting; such leave of absence shall be recorded in the minutes of meeting.

Regulation 18. Record of business.

(1)     The minutes of every meeting of the Executive Council shall be prepared by the Member Secretary of the Executive Council and the minutes shall be duly maintained in both electronic and physical form.

(2)     A copy of draft minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the Executive Council shall be circulated as soon as possible for confirmation by the Members.

(3)     The minutes of every meeting of the Executive Council shall be approved by the Chairperson or any member, presiding over such meeting, and the approved record of business shall be submitted to the Executive Council at its next meeting.

Regulation 19. Business by circulation.

(1)     When any business is transacted by circulation of documents, whether electronically or otherwise, the Member Secretary of the Executive Council shall prepare a record of the business so transacted for approval by the Chairperson of the Executive Council directing the circulation.

(2)     A record shall be maintained by the Member Secretary of items of business transacted by the Executive Council thereof.

Regulation 20. Disclosure of interest by Members.

Every Member of the Executive Council, who is directly or indirectlyconcerned or interested in any business coming up for consideration at a meeting of the Executive Council, shall, as soon as possible, after the relevant circumstances have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature of his interest at such meeting and such disclosure shall be recorded in the proceedings of the Executive Council and the Member shall not take part in any deliberation or decision of the Executive Council, as the case may be, with respect to that business.

CHAPTER 4 REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Regulation 21. Registration.

Any person or organisation seeking financial assistance from the Foundation shall, register themselves through the form available on the website of the Foundation.

Regulation 22. Form.

Any person or organisation who is desirous of seeking financial assistance from the Funds of the Foundation under section 13 of the Act, shall be registered under regulation 21 and apply to the Executive Council in the form as may be notified by the Executive Council from time to time.

Regulation 23. Grant of financial assistance.

(1)     The Executive Council or the authority delegated by the Executive Council shall evaluate the applications received under regulation 22, and enter into an agreement with the person or organisation selected for grant of financial assistance, on terms and conditions as may be set forth under that agreement.

(2)     The criteria for the evaluation of the applications as mentioned in the sub-regulation (1) shall be specified by the Executive Council or the authority delegated by the Executive Council from time to time.

(3)     The financial assistance granted under sub-regulation (1) may be given no-cost extensions, enhancements and reappropriations, depending upon the progress of the project or programme to be evaluated by the Executive Council.

(4)     Any financial assistance provided by the Foundation may be revoked by the Executive Council, upon anybreach of the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Regulation 24. Furnishing of Utilisation Certificate.

Any person or organisation who has availed financial assistance from any of the Funds of the Foundation under section 13 of the Act, shall furnish a utilisation certificate in Form A or Form B, as specified in the Schedule appended to these regulations, -

(a)      Form A in case of recurring or non-recurring grants; and

(b)      Form B in case of grant for seminars or symposia.

Regulation 25. Furnishing of report.

Any person or organisation who has availed financial assistance from the Funds of the Foundation under section 13 of the Act, shall furnish reports in such form as may be notified by the Executive Council from time to time.

CHAPTER 5 CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

Regulation 26. Appointment procedure.

The Chief Executive Officer may, from time to time, appoint the services of consultant or visiting scientists as may be required for the performance of functions of the Foundation within the budget sanctioned for such purposes by the Executive Council.

Regulation 27. Eligibility criteria for consultants.

(1)     The eligibility criteria for consultants for different disciplines shall be as notified by the Executive Council from time to time.

(2)     The Foundation may also engage consultants from any other discipline as deemed necessary to assist the Foundation in the discharge of its functions under the Act.

Regulation 28. Conditions of service for consultants.

(1)     Consultants may be appointed for a tenure of one year, extendable on year to year basis.

(2)     The consultants of different levels shall be paid a consolidated honorarium notified by the Executive Council from time to time.

(3)     The consultants shall be entitled to an appropriate and fixed amount as transport allowance for the purpose of commuting between residence and place of work.

(4)     The consultants shall be entitled to leave of absence at the rate of one and half days for each completed month of service, provided that no consultant shall be entitled to accumulate leave beyond a calendar year.

(5)     The consultants shall not be entitled to any allowances for accommodation, medical or personal insurance.

(6)     The term of appointment of a consultant may be terminated by the Executive Council by serving one months notice, or honorarium thereof.

Regulation 29. Eligibility criteria for visiting scientists.

Any visiting scientist whose services are being engaged by the Foundation, shall be an active researcher working in a leading academic, research, or industrial organisation with proven track record of research and development.

Regulation 30. Conditions of service for visiting scientists.

(1)     Visiting scientists shall be engaged on such terms and conditions, and for such duration as may be determined by the Executive Council and such visiting scientists may be hosted by the Foundation or by such other academic or research institution, or a private institution, as may be determined by the Executive Council.

(2)     The remuneration payable to a visiting scientist shall be determined by the Executive Council based on the experience of such scientist and the visiting scientists shall not be entitled to any other allowances:

Provided that if the visiting scientist is hosted by an academic or research institution, or a private institution, then such host may consider providing additional support to such visiting scientist.

SCHEDULE

Form A

(See regulation 24)

UTILISATION CERTIFICATE (UC) FOR THE YEAR ______

in respect of RECURRING/NON-RECURRING as on ______ to be submitted to the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Is the UC _____________ (Provisional/Audited)

(To be given separately for each financial year ending on 31st March)

(1)     Name of the grant receiving Organisation: .................................

(2)     Name of Principal Investigator (PI): .................................

(3)     Grant Sanction Order No. and Date: .................................

(4)     Title of the Project: .................................

(5)     Name of the Scheme: .................................

(6)     Whether recurring or non-recurring grants: .................................

(7)     Grants position at the beginning of the Financial Year

(i)       Carry forward from previous Financial Year: ______________________

(ii)      Others, if any: _______________________________________________

(iii)     Total: ______________________________________________________

(8)     Details of grants received, expenditure incurred and closing balances: (Actuals)

Component wise utilisation of grants:

Details of grants position at the end of the year

(i)       Balance available at end of financial year: _____________

(ii)      Unspent balance refunded to Anusandhan National Research Foundation (If any): ______________

(iii)     Balance (Carried forward to next financial year), if applicable: ______________

UTILISATION CERTIFICATE (UC) FOR THE YEAR ______ in respect of RECURRING/NON-RECURRING as on ______ to be submitted to the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Is the UC _____________ (Provisional/Audited)

(To be given separately for each financial year ending on 31st March)

Certified that I have satisfied that the conditions on which grants were sanctioned have been duly fulfilled or are being fulfilled and that I have exercised following checks to see that the money has been actually utilised for the purpose for which it was sanctioned, namely:-

(i)       The main accounts and other subsidiary accounts and registers (including assets registers) are maintained as prescribed in the relevant Act or rules or standing instructions (mention the Act or rules) and have been duly audited by designated auditors. The figures depicted above tally with the audited figures mentioned in financial statements or accounts.

(ii)      There exist internal control for safeguarding public funds or assets, watching outcomes and achievements of physical targets against the financial inputs, ensuring quality in asset creation etc. and the periodic evaluation of internal control is exercised to ensure their effectiveness.

(iii)     To the best of our knowledge and belief, no transactions have been entered that are in violation of relevant Act or rules or standing instructions and scheme guidelines.

(iv)    The responsibilities among the key functionaries for execution of the scheme have been assigned in clear terms and are not general in nature.

(v)      The benefits were extended to the intended beneficiaries and only such areas or districts were covered where the scheme was intended to operate.

(vi)    The expenditure on various components of the scheme was in the proportions authorised as per the schemeguidelines and terms and conditions of the grants-in-aid.

(vii)   It has been ensured that the physical and financial performance under ________________ (Name of the scheme) has been according to the requirements, as prescribed in the guidelines issued by Government of India and the performance or targets achieved statement for the year to which the utilisation of the fund resulted in outcomes given at Annexure - I (to be formulated by the Ministry/Department concerned as per their requirements or specification) duly enclosed.

(viii)  The utilisation of the fund resulted in outcomes given at Annexure - II duly enclosed (to be formulated by the Ministry/Department concerned as per their requirements or specifications).

(ix)    Details of various schemes executed by the agency through grants-in-aid received from the same Ministry or from other Ministries is enclosed at Annexure -II (to be formulated by the Ministry/Department concerned as per their requirements or specifications).

Date:

Place:

Form B

(See regulation 24)

Statement of Expenditure and Utilization Certificate

(Financial Assistance to Seminar or Symposia)

Sanction No. _____________ Date: _____________

(1)     Name of Academic Institution or University or Society etc. under whose auspices the Seminar or Conference or Workshop or Symposium etc. was organised: ______________________________________________________________________________

(2)     Title of the Seminar or Conference or Workshop or Symposium etc.: ______________________________________________________________________________

(3)     Duration or Period of the organised event:

(4)     Grant sanctioned or released: ________________________________________________ rupees.

(5)     Out of a total expenditure of _____ rupees, Anusandhan National Research Foundation grant of ______ rupees has been utilised as per the details given below:

(6)     Brief details of total income and expenditure:

(Signature of Convener / Organising Secretary)

UTILISATION CERTIFICATE

(IN DUPLICATE)

Sanction No. _____________ Date: _____________ CERTIFIED that out of __________ grants-in-aid sanctioned during the year ______ in favour of ________ vide Order No. _________ dated ____________ has been utilised for the purpose of __________________ for which it was sanctioned and that the balance of _______________ remaining unutilised at the end of the event has been surrendered to the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Fund (Vide Cheque / DD No. _________________ dated _________).

2. ALSO CERTIFIED that I have satisfied that the conditions on which the of grants-in-aid was sanctioned have been fulfilled or are being fulfilled, and to see that the money was actually utilised for the purpose for which it was sanctioned.

(In case of University/ Academic Institution)

Signature of Convener / Organising

Secretary

(Head of the Institution i.e.

Registrar/ Director / Principal)

Signature of Accounts /

Finance Officer/ (with Seal)

(In case of Societies/ Association)

Signature of Convener / Organising

Secretary

(President/Secretary) Signature of the Chartered Accountants (with Seal)