3 weeks ago
Rajya Sabha MP flags deep-tech grants worth Rs 1,377 crore
India's government has a special money pot called the Research, Development and Innovation Fund.
It gives money to help the country with deep-tech, which means very advanced science and technology ideas.
The Indian Express, a newspaper, looked into these grants.
It found something that might be a conflict of interest.
A conflict of interest happens when the people deciding who gets money might also benefit from it.
A leader named Praveen Chakravarty works in India's Parliament, called the Rajya Sabha.
He read the newspaper's findings and got worried.
He asked the government to explain how it keeps the grant process fair.
He also asked for an independent review of the first round of grants.
The government will discuss this in Parliament on August 13.
An Indian Express investigation found a possible conflict of interest over deep-tech grants worth Rs 1,377 crore approved by the Research, Development and Innovation Fund.
Congress MP Praveen Chakravarty flagged the investigation in the Rajya Sabha on Friday morning.
He wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General urging the government to apprise the House of safeguards against actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
He submitted a notice calling the attention of Science Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh to a motion likely to be tabled on August 13.
He asked the government to consider an independent review of the first round of approvals to ensure public funds are allocated fairly and impartially.
- Who
- Congress MP Praveen Chakravarty; Science Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh; the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General.
- What
- Parliamentary scrutiny of a possible conflict of interest over deep-tech grants worth Rs 1,377 crore approved by the Research, Development and Innovation Fund, following an Indian Express investigation.
- Where
- The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament.
- When
- Friday morning, with a motion calling attention to the matter likely to be tabled on August 13.
- Why
- To ensure public funds are allocated through a process that is fair, impartial, and beyond reproach, free from actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
Key facts
- Grants under scrutiny
- Rs 1,377 crore
- Fund
- Research, Development and Innovation Fund
- Investigation
- Indian Express
- MP raising issue
- Praveen Chakravarty (Congress)
- Minister called to respond
- Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science
- Motion date
- August 13
- Requested action
- Independent review of the first round of approvals
Sources
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