NEW DELHI--Collaborating with India's top universities just got harder. New guidelines from the Human Resource Development Ministry require the country's 16 central universities to obtain prior clearance before signing a memorandum of understanding with a foreign institution or bringing in a foreign scholar. The new rules, issued this winter, cover everything from the expected cost of the collaboration to the parentage of the visiting scholar.
Indian science minister M. M. Joshi greets Swiss scientist Ingo Potrykus.
CREDIT: P. BAGLA
The ministry cites "political security" and increased "sensitivity" as the reasons for the closer scrutiny, while noting that such collaborations remain "highly desirable" for universities hoping to remain globally competitive. But physicist Yash Pal, former chair of the University Grants Commission, worries that the guidelines "will lead to fantastic delays" and may make some collaborations impractical.
