State announces a Rs. 9 crore medical research fund

The state administration on Monday announced the creation of a “Research Fund” for medical schools and institutions under the Health and Family Welfare Department, in an effort to significantly advance medical research.

The Health Department announced in a notification to this effect that the fund will be entrusted to the deans, principals, and directors of all government hospitals, postgraduate (PG) institutes, and medical and dental colleges to cover costs associated with the institutions’ research-related initiatives.

There is an annual budget of Rs 9 crore set out for this purpose. The fund would offer SCB medical college and hospital Cuttack, MKCG MCH Berhampur, and VIMSAR Burla with an annual allocation of Rs 1 crore each, while the new government medical colleges and SCB dentistry college, Cuttack, will get an annual allocation of Rs 50 lakh each. Each PG institution would get an annual allocation of Rs 25 lakh.

According to officials, the fund will improve the standard of medical education by supporting national research, publications, and staff and student involvement in seminars and conferences pertaining to the study themes. It will support the development of an environment that fosters innovation and research in the state’s health sector.

According to health authorities, the effort will provide both qualitative and quantitative results and allow the institutions to take the necessary steps to raise the standard of patient care, medical education, and research in the state.

However, the department has made it clear that funding from the research fund is exclusively available for initiatives involving internal research. The study must be a unique piece of work using suitable technique and questions. Any kind of plagiarism will result in disqualification.

At the college and institute levels, a committee will be established to review and evaluate applications. The selection-cum-monitoring committee will oversee the fund usage every three months, and a group led by DMET will assess the plan on a yearly basis. The committee, which will include one eminent outside researcher, will evaluate the fund’s qualitative and quantitative results.