Pariksha SaathiAll ten MoES research institutes become AcSIR Associated Research Institutes for PhD programmes in earth system sciences
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) declared a Memorandum of Understanding at Prithvi Bhawan, New Delhi, on 13 October 2026, under which all ten research institutes of MoES have been recognised as AcSIR Associated Research Institutes, the ministry said on 19 October. The MoU, executed on 21 August 2026, was signed by Dr Praveen Kumar D., Mission Director (Mission Mausam), for MoES and Prof. Manoj Kumar Dhar, Director, AcSIR, and declared in the presence of MoES Secretary Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala. Students selected for AcSIR's PhD programme will do their research at MoES institutes under MoES scientists recognised as AcSIR faculty, and AcSIR will award the degree, naming the host institute on the certificate. Fields include weather forecasting and climate services, polar and cryosphere research, ocean observation and marine robotics, deep-sea mining and desalination, seismology and AI/ML in earth sciences; all ten institutes are taking part in AcSIR's latest PhD enrolment cycle, and students will be credited as inventors on intellectual property from their research.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) was set up by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) through an Act of Parliament, the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Act, 2011, which came into force on 3 April 2012. AcSIR is an institution of national importance that imparts instruction and awards degrees in frontier areas of cross- and trans-disciplinary science and technology.
Reference: PIB release of 26 November 2014 on AcSIR (Lok Sabha reply)
Check yourself: which body awards the PhD, and what does the degree certificate show?
AcSIR awards the degree, and the certificate explicitly names the MoES host institute where the student did the research.
Revision task: from this release, note the dates the MoU was executed and declared, the signatories, the number of institutes and the research fields, and keep them apart from the standing facts about AcSIR above.
Test yourself
Under the MoES-AcSIR MoU declared on 13 October 2026, how many MoES research institutes have been recognised as AcSIR Associated Research Institutes?
Show the answer
Answer: All ten
All ten premier research institutes under MoES have been recognised as AcSIR Associated Research Institutes and are taking part in AcSIR's latest PhD enrolment cycle.
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