CCRAS ‘SPARK’ Prog to support innovative research in Ayurveda

Guidance of top industry experts and support of Rs 50,000 among key features

The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), has taken a unique initiative to support the research efforts of bright young minds of the Country by developing the Studentship Program for Ayurveda Research Ken (SPARK) for Ayurveda (BAMS) students studying in recognised Ayurveda colleges. 

Pramod Kumar Pathak, Special Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India and Vaidya Jayant Yeshwant Deopujari, Chairman, National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) launched the fellowship scheme and the application portal in the presence of Prof Sanjeev Sharma, Director-cum-Vice Chancellor In-Charge, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur and Prof RN Acharya, Director General, CCRAS, Dr Sulochana Bhatt, Director, CARI, Bengaluru, Dr MMRao, Director, CARI, Bhubaneswar and Research Officers of the Institute at Central Ayurveda Research Institute, Bhubaneswar in an event organized to mark the occasion.

While lauding the efforts of CCRAS, the Special Secretary said, “CCRAS has taken many commendable initiatives in recent times, especially during the COVID-pandemic. The Council has not only developed popular formulations such as Ayush-64, it has as many as 18 formulations and technologies to its credit also.” 

He further added, “I am confident that the SPARK Program developed by the council will support the innovative ideas of young students and promote the culture of evidence-based scientific research in the field of Traditional Medicine.”

Prof Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS informed, “With guidance and support from the Ministry of Ayush, CCRAS has developed and implemented a wide range of schemes and programs to serve the citizens.” 

While elaborating upon the recent initiatives of CCRAS including SPARK, the Director General also mentioned, “by developing meaningful collaborations with premiere academic research institutions within and outside of the country such as IIT, ICMR, ICAR, JNU, BHU, AIIMS, University of and others, the Council has accelerated quality research activity in the domains of Ayurveda and allied sciences.” 

Prof Acharya further added, “SPARK programme is primarily developed to help students develop an acumen for research and to further support and incentivise their research ideas.”

While speaking about international collaborations, the Director General informed that the council is currently working on research and development projects in collaboration with leading research institutions in Romania, Germany, Israel, the US, Canada and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Prof. Acharya also informed, “To complement the efforts of the Ministry of Ayush for promotion and propagation of Ayurveda education across the world, the Council has collaborated with premier educational institutions across the world and has set up Ayurveda Chair in 11 countries.

While sharing more details about the SPARK programme, D Adarsh Kumar, Assistant Director (Ayurveda), CCRAS informed, ” ‘SPARK’ aims to support the research ideas of young undergraduate students enrolled in Ayurveda Colleges across India. The application process for SPARK will be completely online through the portal www.spark.ccras.nic.in.” 

Further, Dr Adarsh added, “Interested candidates will be required to submit their research proposals through the SPARK Portal. The proposals will be evaluated by eminent experts and reviewers. The selected fellows will be offered financial support of Rs 50,000 under the fellowship. Initially, there will be a total of 100 seats per session and further details may be accessed at the programme portal.

PIB