VAJRA: Visiting Advanced Joint Research is a Faculty Scheme. It is a dedicated program exclusively for overseas scientists and academicians with emphasis on Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) / Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to work as adjunct/visiting faculty for a specific period of time in Indian public funded academic and research institutions. The Scheme recognizes the value of collaborative research as a crucial element for information sharing among researchers for updating and acquiring knowledge and skills, and also to draw different perspectives to solve a shared problem. SERB welcomes accomplished Overseas Scientists to take up challenging research problems in the Indian setting.
Duration and Funding: The Faculty will work for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months a year in an institution in India. It is expected that the Indian Host Institution may engage him/her for a longer duration even after the completion of the assignment. The adjunct position will be offered initially for a period of 1 year and can be renewed every year.
The VAJRA Faculty will be provided with a lump-sum amount of US $ 15000 in the first month of engagement in a year and US $ 10000 pm in the other two months to cover their travel and honorarium. While no separate support is provided for e.g. accommodation, medical/personal insurance etc. the host institute may consider providing additional support. The payment to the faculty will be made in Indian Rupees.
Visa Type: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has advised that if the period of stay is up to 3 months at a time, no registration is required with the FRROs/FROs. However, if the faculty is engaged for a duration exceeding 180 days, then registration may be as per the requirement of the Employment Visa regime.
The foreign academicians/experts/faculty visiting India under VAJRA should apply for Research VISA
Please find the following link for more information about the VAJRA program: https://www.vajra-india.in/
Contact: Dr.Praveenkumar S
Programme Coordinator
Phone: 011 2659 0353
E-mail: praveen@nic.in