Lok Sabha nod to AcSIR Bill

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill that would enable the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to start an academy to award post-graduate and doctoral degrees.

The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) Bill, 2010 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in July last year.

It was taken up for consideration in the Lower House in March but discussion on it remained inconclusive as former Science and Technology Minister Murli Manohar Joshi raised certain objections.

The proposed legislation aims to establish the academy for advancement of learning and promotion of research in the field of science and technology in association with the CSIR.

Presently, scientists pursuing research in any of the 37 laboratories of CSIR across the country have to register themselves at different universities.

The bill was introduced by then S&T Minister Prithviraj Chavan and taken up for consideration during the brief tenure of Pawan Kumar Bansal as S&T Minister.

The current S&T Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh ironed out the wrinkles on the bill raised due to Joshi's objections at a lengthy meeting last week which was also attended by vice chancellors of universities.