“First in the World Challenge” Initiative

04.11.2024

“First in the World Challenge” Initiative

Why in the news?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Aimed at encouraging Indian scientists to come up with innovative ideas for finding solutions to difficult health problems, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has announced a new initiative called “First in the World Challenge”.

About “First in the World Challenge” Initiative:

• The “First in the World” Challenge, inspired by the success of Chandrayaan-3, is a major initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) designed to promote the development of groundbreaking health technologies.
• The scheme aims to foster novel, out-of-the-box, futuristic ideas, new knowledge generation, and discovery/development of breakthrough health technologies (vaccines, drugs/therapeutics, diagnostics, interventions, etc.) that have never been thought of, tested or tried in the world till date.
• This high-risk, high-reward program will provide funding for projects at various stages, from proof-of-concept to prototype and final product development.
• The proposal must have bold research ideas with significant wide-ranging impact and, if successful, should have potential ‘first of its kind’ biomedical and technological innovations for better health outcomes in the global context.
• Proposals aiming for ‘incremental’ knowledge’ or ‘process innovation ‘will not be funded through this scheme.
• The proposals can be submitted by an individual or by a team of researchers (either from a single institute or from multiple institutes).
• Every team application must designate one Principal Investigator from the team who will be responsible for technical, administrative, and financial deliverables.
• Selection: A selection committee will be formed by experts of high repute, innovators, policymakers and scientists with an outstanding record of conducting research and innovation in the biomedical domain.
• This initiative will inspire our scientists to come up with innovative ideas for finding solutions to difficult health problems.

                                                                 Source: The Hindu

What is the main goal of the "First in the World Challenge" initiative, recently seen in the news?

A.To support incremental improvements in scientific research

B.To promote the development of groundbreaking health technologies

C.To enhance training programs for young researchers

D.To promote traditional knowledge systems

Answer B