The recently passed Odisha universities research innovation & incentivization scheme declared with much aplomb is another rhetoric as felt by many, because in 2016 there was a convention at Utkal University in which a high official of apex research institution in the presence of huge academic glitterati had declared with the hype that -the state is now on focuss & scholar researcher will be funded from small funds of 2- 5 lakh& big project upto 15 lahks which so far remained only in declaration. A nodal department was chosen for such work & a Madam was put in charge. Still, researchers, and scholars have never seen any such incentivization published from any university. Few keen scholars who knew the nuances -like this author - approached the nodal Incharge Mam of the said research support departments, she was always found busy in other works or the bathroom!
Now again after 2 years, such declarations are another rhetoric if not then it soon be. The modus operandi is either rating researcher scholars' expectations are hype by the higher academic or such support system always remained within the corridors of their & dear ones one in the state had ever tried to know the huge spending of govt funds on research projects which are till now considered the domain of few in Higher academic and they, in turn, give such opportunity to their own -near & dear ones: had it not than very important research projects of this author couldn't have been languishing for years in the files of higher academic institutions which otherwise clearly proved the secrecy working 'in this era of Right to Information!
Many of our govt departments like P&C, WCD, and PR departments run research projects with huge govt funds shared between their own 'and run on the preferences 'of the authority other than the merits of a Researcher-scholar. Had it not been so a university with 25 lahks for several years to undertake the most illogical &impractical study on Working of Panchyatiraj in Rajasthan 'to another 5 lahks on studying 'the trail of MRP on commodities 'by few others in another varsity. Such measures may be erudite in Improving the research domain but when basic, key ingredients & most utterly needed projects /topics have needed to be touched and left to its mercy then surely such irrelevant of the time'projects need to be discarded first before undertaking those which have better relevance to society & nation. But the penchant of a few of our higher academics that ' they were above board & can't be questioned 'syndrome has engulfed the research domain like never before. Few academic institutions' processing of a proposal submitted by scholars is always shrouded in mystery as it is treated as an 'exclusive domain 'by few in an era when officials Secrecy Act 1923 has already been. Inflamed into ashes. Thus a nonaccountable & nontransparent policy in taking up research projects while giving scholarships, fellowships, and grants to scholars are administered with zero accountability as a result many deserving scholar researchers & their society-improving projects died before they saw the day, due to the absence of patronization & funds!. Values -who can deny its importance in academics but a project conceived to integrate Values in academic texts by a scholar was thrown to the wind while impractical projects like Working of Panchyat in Rajasthan 'by a northeastern region university with huge funds have no practicality as neither the department
s staffs had ever visited Rajasthan to study it rather it would have been prudent to assign it a study on Working of Panchyatiraj in our state which it wasn't.
In order to clear the backlog of funds on research -be it of science or social science few key agencies simply distribute the huge funds within their close coterie like this.
A structured research scholar fellowship policy in the state is yet to be devised as there are no departments/agencies that could take responsibility for a research project once submitted by a scholar though such clear-cut structures exist in other states & centers we have few departments, agencies boast of promoting such things but at the end, one may find that s/he may enter a dark territory whose path never found to end-unless one belongs to a close coterie of those administering this one may end up with no support '.A structured work plan with a clear declaration of fellowship, by a dept/agency to enhance research in the state is yet to see the day as it works as per the 'preferred of authority 'which needed to be reversed with 'preferences of society & time '.