Intensification of Research in High Priority Areas (IRHPA)

The Intensification of Research in High Priority Areas (IRHPA) program of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) supports proposals in high priority areas where multidisciplinary / multi-institutional expertise is required which will put our nation in international science map in that particular discipline. The Scheme is designed to provide major support to a few selected areas of research that have high priority from the viewpoint of advances in fundamental science and that can be of great significance for scientific and technological development. SERB identifies the priority areas and makes a national call for seeking proposals. The necessary facilities required for implementing the identified high priority areas will be supported through this scheme.

The project will be set up around established research groups led by a Principal Investigator (PI) with at least two co-PIs of complementary expertise from different departments / institutes to transform the program truly interdisciplinary and multi institutional. The duration of the project is normally for a period of 5 years.


Who can submit

Scientist in regular service from academic and research institutions in India can submit a proposal under this scheme. For specific guidelines, Please refer IRPHA notification call for proposals in specific areas as per the details below :


  1. SERB-IRHPA National Biosafety Level (BSL 3 / ABSL 3) Facilities    Click here for more details
When and how to submit

The proposal should be submitted online only, through the website www.serbonline.in. The format, guidelines and other details of the scheme are available in the same website. No hard copy of the proposal will be accepted.

Areas of research support

In the current year, R&D proposals are solicited in the following areas:

  1. SERB Centre for Energy Transformation and Storage (Call is closed)
  2. SERB Centres on AI-based Earth Systems Modeling (Call is closed)
  3. SERB Centres for Antibody Engineering (Call is closed)   
  4. SERB-IRHPA National Biosafety Level (BSL 3 / ABSL 3) Facilities(Call is closed)   
Components of grant

The component of grant is similar to other project submitted to SERB. However, the amount of grant is higher than regular projects. The duration of the project is 5 years. The host institute should have a sustainability plan to continue the research activities beyond the normal duration of 5 years. Commitment of the Institute should be specified in the proposal.

Mechanism of implementation and monitoring

The proposals submitted for support are peer reviewed by the experts in the area. Specific expert committee will evaluate the proposals. SERB board takes the final decision following its appraisal and approval mechanisms. The sanctioned projects will be monitored through Management Advisory Committee constituted for this purpose.

Instructions for online application

For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted:

  • Principal Investigator (PI) should first register into the online website.  click here to register
  • After successful registration, user will be sent a confirmation mail on registered emaiID .User must click on the url provided in the mail to confirm registration.
  • After log-in, Principal Investigator (PI) are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile. which includes Bio-data, Photo, Institute Address etc.
  • Ensure that all CO-PI's in your proposal are registered into the system and has filled Profile Detail section under User Profile which includes Bio data, photo, Institute Address, etc.
  • Some of the details of your proposal like Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of project (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Budget (Research Personnel, Consumables, Travel, Equipment, Contingency, Overheads) have to be entered at the time of proposal submission.
  • Other relevant information of the proposal has to be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 10 MB as other technical document (OTD). Download Template
  • Documents required (in PDF) should be in prescribed format:
    1. Biodata (under user profile section) Download Template
    2. Certificate from Principal Investigator Download Template
    3. Endorsement Letter from the Head of Institution Download Template
    4. OTD is available for IRHPA Download Template
    5. Plagiarism undertaking Download Template