How India plans to bring back its scientists from US universities facing billion-dollar grant freeze

As the United States tightens its grip over the university funding and research priorities, India is reworking a plan to bring back its scientists and researchers who have settled abroad, as per reports. The move aims to create a pathway for Indian-origin scientists to teach and conduct research at Indian universities.

A similar plan was considered nearly a decade ago, however, it was hindered by procedural delays and uncertainties. The Indian government is now reworking on its plan against the backdrop of the recent developments in the US, where most of these researchers are employed.

The ministries of education and science and technology are designing a scheme to bring back established Indian-origin scientists and researchers with significant academic work to their credit who are willing to spend a defined period in India to pursue research or teach, the PTI reported.

"The IITs have already been trying to attract reputed foreign faculty, including Indian-origin ones who are now settled abroad or have their major body of work there," a source said.

US tightens academic control

Earlier this month, the Donald Trump administration directed at least nine US universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, to sign agreements aligning with its higher education priorities, warning that failure to comply could result in loss of federal funding.

In a nine-page memo titled 'A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education', the White House proposed a 15% cap on its international student intake in undergraduate (UG) level, with an additional 5% limit on students from a single country.

This comes as a severe blow to Indian students – the largest number of international student groups in the US – pursuing at the primary, secondary, other vocational, bachelors, masters, doctorate levels. According to the June 2025 SEVIS Mapping Pool Data , a total of 372,424 Indian nationals are pursuing higher education in the US.

Notably, India has surpassed China as the top country to have sent students to pursue higher education in the US after a 14-year gap, according to the Open Doors Report 2024.

Top US universities face billion–dollar grant freeze

The top universities such as Harvard have had billions of dollars in federal grants frozen amid demands to overhaul admissions, governance, and faculty policies — a move widely criticised by experts as an attack on institutional independence.

As tension grows between US universities and the Trump administration strain, Nobel Prize–winning economists Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee recently announced their decision to leave MIT to join the University of Zurich (UZH).

MIT, one of the nine universities named in the memo, refused to support the White House directive, stating the policies would restrict the institute’s independence and freedom of expression, as per Reuters.

Also read Existing H-1B holders do not have to pay $1,00,000 visa fee; USCIS clarifies

How Indian plans to attract researchers?

Currently, the ministry of science and technology runs Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Faculty Scheme to bring back overseas scientists and academicians, including Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), to work in public funded institutions and universities for a specific period of time.

Anusandhan National Research Foundation offers the Ramanujan Fellowship for Indian researchers of high calibre living abroad to work in Indian institutes and universities in all areas of science, engineering and medicine.

“Ramanujan Fellow is entitled for a Fellowship of Rs 1,35,000/- consolidated per month(including HRA component). The fellowship will carry a research grant of Rs 7 lakh per annum. and overhead charges of Rs 60,000 to the host institute until the fellow is not having any position in India.

The Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP) provides an opportunity to early, intermediate and senior level researchers to establish their research and academic career in basic biomedical or clinical and public health in India. These fellowships are open to all eligible researchers who wish to relocate or continue to work in India.

In 2015, the Bengaluru government cleared a "Welcome Home proposal" to bring back scholars and professors settled in universities and institutions abroad to ensure jobs in Karnataka-run universities and colleges for Indian-origin scientists, research scholars and professors if they return to the state, the PTI reported.