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As India expands its ambitions in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum technologies and space, the Narendra Modi government is making a fresh push to reverse one of the country’s oldest challenges, the migration of its brightest scientific minds overseas.
The latest step is the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme 2026, under which the Ministry of Education has invited applications to attract globally accomplished Indian-origin scientists back to the country.
The move comes at a time when concerns over talent flight have resurfaced, including in strategic sectors such as space, where reports of scientists leaving organisations like ISRO have renewed debate over India’s ability to retain high-end research talent.
The PMRC Scheme is part of a much broader vision championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, transforming India’s decades-old “brain drain” into “brain gain” by creating opportunities for leading scientists abroad to return, collaborate and help build world-class research institutions at home.
Backed by an outlay of around Rs 200 crore, the scheme aims to bring at least 120 internationally recognised researchers to Indian Institutes of Technology over the next five years. They will work across 13 priority sectors, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, space, quantum, defence, cybersecurity, climate technologies and advanced manufacturing.
The government has also put substantial financial incentives on the table. Young Research Fellows can receive funding of up to Rs 4 crore, Senior Research Fellows up to Rs 6.5 crore, while the prestigious Research Chair category carries support of up to Rs 14 crore.
The initiative complements the government’s larger scientific missions such as the National Quantum Mission, National Supercomputing Mission and Deep Ocean Mission, all of which require a strong pool of world-class researchers if India is to achieve technological self-reliance.
According to former Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary and NITI Aayog Member Prof. Abhay Karandikar, the government has steadily expanded programmes aimed at reconnecting with Indian scientists settled abroad.
“We have many schemes to attract Indian diaspora scientists to return and collaborate with our scientists in India. The VAIBHAV (Vaishvik Bharatiya Vaigyanik) Fellowship, launched in 2023, has already selected two cohorts. Thirty-five fellowships were awarded in 2025 to leading scientists working across material science, biotechnology, semiconductors, AI, quantum technologies, space, defence technologies and cyber security,” he said.
He pointed out that the latest initiatives are also being shaped by changing global circumstances.
“The current geopolitical situation presents an opportunity to attract talented researchers back to India. They can contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat and several national mission programmes,” Karandikar said.
The government’s reverse brain drain strategy did not begin with the PMRC Scheme.
The VAIBHAV scheme built upon the earlier VAJRA Fellowship, which had pursued similar objectives.
According to Prof. Abhay Karandikar, the idea itself traces back to the Vaishvik Bharatiya Vaigyanik Summit held in 2020, where Prime Minister Modi urged the scientific community to create institutional mechanisms to reconnect India’s global scientific diaspora with the country’s research ecosystem.
While these initiatives strengthened collaboration, officials acknowledge they have not yet delivered the scale of permanent return the government had hoped for.
That has prompted a more focused outreach.
According to highly placed government sources, multiple efforts are now underway to persuade distinguished Indian-origin scientists abroad to return and take up long-term assignments in India.
In April 2025, acting on directions from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), National Security Advisor Ajit Doval constituted a three-member outreach committee comprising National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) members, chaired by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, to woo leading scientists settled abroad. The committee also includes other NSAB members, IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti and IIT Hyderabad Director B. S. Murty.
Its mandate is to identify and engage leading Indian scientists working overseas and encourage them to contribute to India’s strategic research programmes.
“The work is in progress. Some leading scientists are expected to return soon to serve the motherland,” a senior government source said.
Experts, however, caution that generous funding alone cannot reverse decades of outward migration.
India’s expenditure on research and development remains at about 0.6-0.7 per cent of GDP, significantly lower than major global research economies. Scientists often weigh laboratory infrastructure, academic freedom, industry partnerships, research autonomy and long-term career opportunities as much as financial incentives.
Recognising these structural challenges, the government announced a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund in November 2025. Managed by the Department of Science and Technology through the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the fund is designed to boost private sector-led research in deep-tech and strategic sectors.
The government believes that sustained investment in advanced laboratories, cutting-edge infrastructure and long-term research programmes will be critical to making India an attractive destination for global scientific talent.
Changing international conditions may also work in India’s favour. Economic uncertainty in advanced economies, tighter immigration policies, rising nationalism and disruptions in the global technology sector are prompting many highly skilled professionals to reassess career opportunities.
For India, policymakers see this as a rare strategic opening.
The challenge now is whether financial incentives, stronger research infrastructure and institutional reforms can together convert Prime Minister Modi’s vision of “brain gain” into a lasting shift in India’s scientific landscape.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
