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Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and AcSIR announce partnership to advance Doctoral Research in Earth System Sciences

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) have formalised a strategic partnership to expand doctoral research opportunities in earth system sciences. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was officially declared on October 13, 2026, at Prithvi Bhawan in New Delhi, following its execution on August 21, 2026. Under the agreement, all 10 research institutes under MoES have been recognised as AcSIR Associated Research Institutes (AcSIR-ARIs). The collaboration combines MoES’s scientific expertise and research infrastructure with AcSIR’s academic framework to offer PhD programmes in areas including atmospheric, ocean and polar sciences. Students will conduct research at MoES institutes under the supervision of scientists recognised as AcSIR faculty, while AcSIR will award the doctoral degrees, with the host institute identified on the degree certificates.

The partnership aims to strengthen interdisciplinary research, facilitate infrastructure and resource sharing, and expand academic opportunities for students and early-career researchers. All 10 MoES institutes are participating in AcSIR’s latest PhD enrolment cycle, with nodal coordinators appointed at each institute and a central coordinator at MoES to facilitate implementation. Research areas covered by the collaboration include weather forecasting, climate services, numerical weather prediction, polar and cryosphere research, ocean observation, marine robotics, deep-sea mining, desalination, seismology, earthquake hazard assessment, coastal processes, marine living resources and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in earth sciences. The framework also provides for intellectual property rights generated through research, including recognition of student inventors and mutual sharing of jointly generated intellectual property. The partnership is expected to strengthen India’s scientific research ecosystem and support capacity building in earth system sciences. 

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