State University Research Excellence (SERB-SURE) is a new scheme of the Science and Engineering Research Board

(SERB) to augment the research capabilities in a structured way to create a robust R&D ecosystem in state universities and
colleges by fostering collaboration for high-end research. The growth of existing research capabilities at these institutions is
imperative to ensure horizontal diffusion of research excellence reaching all research students hoping to contribute to the
national R&D ecosystem and promoting the enhancement of quality through SERB support.

OBJECTIVE

SERB-SURE scheme provides research support to active researchers belonging to state universities and colleges
including private universities and colleges across India to undertake research and development in frontier areas of
science, engineering and quantitative social science. The scheme will seed new research opportunities at various state
& private universities and colleges and will propagate scientific temper in faculty and students of these institutions.

ELIGIBILITY

1. Applicants [Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator(s) (Co-PI(s))] should be Indian citizens.
2. PI and Co-Investigator(s) should hold PhD./M.D./M.S./M.D.S./MVSc. degree at the time of applying for the
grant.
3. The applicant (Principal Investigator) must hold a regular academic/research position in a State
University/College or Private University/College which is recognized by UGC / AICTE / PCI.
4. Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs) must hold a regular academic/research position in a recognized academic
institution or national laboratory or in any other recognized R & D institution in India.
5. The term "Regular" in the context of this scheme refers to the applicants who are appointed against the
sanctioned post or in a tenure post but are likely to be renewed after the end of the tenure.
[Note: Research Associates, Postdoctoral fellows, Ad-hoc faculties, Guest Faculty, Visiting Scientist,
Consultant, Project Fellows and Faculty members whose contract is renewed every year are not eligible. In
respect of cases that are not mentioned above, SERB reserves the right to determine the eligibility].
6. Co-PI can become the PI of the project, if the PI superannuates during the duration of the project. In such cases,
a Faculty/Scientist from the host institute who has at least 5 years of service remaining should be associated as a
Co-PI. Already superannuated Faculty/Scientists are not eligible to apply.
7. Applicant (PI) having any ongoing or have completed any SERB project/s is not eligible to apply.
8. Applicant (PI) from centrally funded universities / colleges / institutes/ organization would not be considered for
support under this scheme.

NATURE & DURATION OF SUPPORT

The total research grants not exceeding Rs. 30 lakhs (Including Overhead) for a period of three years are provided for
minor equipment/s, research personnel, consumables, domestic travel, contingency and other costs (analytical charges,
equipment user charges, fieldwork charges, etc.,). "Overhead" is provided to the implementing institution as per
prevailing norms of SERB.

MODE & SELECTION OF APPLICATION:

1. An applicant is eligible to submit only one proposal during a call.

2. Any proposal technically rejected by SERB in any scheme should not be resubmitted without any substantial
revision to this scheme.
3. The call for applications will be notified through the website www.serbonline.in and www.serb.gov.in. The
application form along with a proper research proposal highlighting the research work to be undertaken should
be submitted online through the website "www.serbonline.in".
4. The selection will be based on the recommendations of Program Advisory Committees (PACs) constituted by
the SERB adopting a two-tier screening mechanism specifically for the scheme. If required, the applicants may
be called for discussion/ presentation.
5. SERB will take the final decision based on the recommendation of PAC.
HOW TO APPLY ONLINE

For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted:
1. Applicant(s) should first register on the online website click here to register.
2. After login, the applicant is required to fill all the mandatory fields in the Profile Detail section under User
Profile. which includes Bio-data, Photos, Institute addresses etc.
3. Some of the details of your proposal like Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000
characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of the project (max 1500 characters), Expected output, and outcome
of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Budget (Research Personnel, Consumables, Travel, Equipment,
Contingency, Overhead) have to be entered at the time of proposal submission.
4. Other relevant information about the proposal has to be uploaded in a single PDF file not more than 10 MB as
another technical document (OTD) (max 1500 words). Download Template
5. The call for proposal will be notified through the websites "www.serbonline.in" and www.serb.gov.in. The
proposal highlighting the research work to be undertaken should be submitted online through the website
"www.serbonline.in".

PLAGIARISM

Proposals submitted must be original in ideation and content. Plagiarism in any form will not be acceptable. All
submitted proposals would be subjected to a third-party similarity check and proposals are liable to be rejected if found
plagiarized. Any text taken verbatim from other sources needs to be identified using quotation marks and proper
reference. Applicants are requested to pre-check their proposals for plagiarism before uploading. Proposals found
containing plagiarized content will be rejected.

SCIENTIFIC SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

SERB has adopted Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy to imbibe a culture of social commitment among
SERB Grantees. The policy intends to effectively utilize the scientific infrastructure and expertise of SERB grantees to
benefit other S&T stakeholders, especially the less-endowed researchers and society. SSR activities need to be chosen
after approval and depending on the activities chosen additional budget would be provided under a separate head to
carry out the chosen activities. SERB Grantees need to undertake the proposed SSR activities during their project
period.