To enable scholars in the state to research and document various aspects of Meghalaya, the state government today launched the website and portal of the Chief Minister’s Research Grant (CMRG) with a budget of Rs 3 lakh per researcher for 50 project.
The CMRG was announced in March when it was announced that subjects of interest that concern the state, especially in the fields of arts and culture, heritage studies and aspects that seek to study, document and further illuminate matters and aspects relating to the land, language and lineage of the indigenous communities of Meghalaya and to suggest meaningful and doable solutions to the various issues and emerging challenges confronted by the state, would be the focus.
Recipients of the grant will receive Rs 3 lakh, with half upfront and the remaining after meeting specific criteria. The duration of the research project will be for 10 months.
Applicants should at least have a Bachelor’s degree in any social science subject from a recognised university. A committee has been constituted to approve the award of the grants.
Today’s launch was done by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma accompanied by Arts and Culture Minister Paul Lyngdoh.
Sangma urged scholars and researchers in the state to apply in order that this initiative is not wasted. “Many of our scholars want to do research but there is no support. There is no lack of individuals but there is no mechanism or platform to do it and this initiative is to support the researchers and scholars,” he said.
Pointing out that Meghalaya lacks research and documentation, he said research and documentation is a foundation and many states and nations have stressed on documentation as it helps future generations to understand the past and make things better.
He further said a state-level data centre is coming up and it is expected that all these inputs will be kept ready in the cloud.
Meanwhile, Lyngdoh said that the CMRG will provide assistance to researchers as individuals as institutes to enable them to do research.
Pointing out that there is a vast gap between what is known as evidence-based literature and what is scripted, he said, “Vast amount of it has been handed over to us through several centuries of oral tradition. There is huge potential to conduct studies and research in those areas.”
He said that as the world moves towards digital platforms and artificial intelligence it is important for the indigenous society to come up with research-based material and the grant was, the government felt, the way to enable individual scholars and institutes to conduct research in various fields.
