ANRF Announces PAIR Networks with 18 Hubs, 106 Spokes Selected

21 Apr 2025 CW Team

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has announced the formation of PAIR Networks—a nationwide alliance of 18 Hub institutions and 106 partnering Spokes—under its flagship Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (PAIR) programme.

The initiative is designed to connect higher education institutions with leading research centres through structured collaboration and mentorship, thereby reinforcing India’s research and innovation ecosystem.

The call for participation received an enthusiastic response from the academic community, with 30 top-tier institutions submitting Hub proposals and 166 institutions expressing interest as Spokes. Following a rigorous evaluation process, 18 institutions have been selected to act as Hubs and to spearhead collaborative research, innovation and capacity-building efforts in partnership with 106 Spoke institutions nationwide.

Strategic Structure for Inclusive Research Growth To foster focused engagement and broaden the programme’s reach, the selected networks have been divided into two strategic categories:

Category A: 7 Hub institutions with 45 Spokes Category B: 11 Hub institutions with 61 Spokes

Advancing NEP 2020 Vision Anchored in the principles of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the PAIR programme reflects ANRF’s mission to unlock the latent research potential of India’s academic sector. It aims to create vibrant ecosystems of innovation, transforming participating institutions into hubs of excellence and global relevance.

The complete list of selected institutions is available in Annexure-I.

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