Universities are cradles of innovation and knowledge creation. Research in universities has three-tier effects concerned with quality of under-graduate & postgraduate education and value of research. They are the source of generating high caliber manpower and repositories of national intellectual wealth in Science & Technology (S&T) sector, which if channelized properly, may lead to socioeconomic development.
In the emerging global scenario, India can be an ideal destination due to its cost effectiveness and availability of knowledge base. It must also aim for a permanent position in the field of Science & Technology. Considering the present status of the S&T sector in the universities and related academic institutions who are in dire need for strengthening the existing S&T infrastructure support with adequate funding and associated flexibility, Government of India in the year 2000 announced a major new initiative titled "Fund for Improvement of S&T infrastructure in universities & higher educational institutions (FIST)" to rebuild the Science & Technology infrastructure in the country.
