Thread by @ganitlabs

1/n @DBTIndia our project fellows not paid for 9mo. we have sent series of uc/soe but every time due to delay, the next series of papers wanted as time has lapsed or something silly. those with big projects with crores of funding can shuffle/do tricks w their money, we can't.

2/n what can a young person do to get paid? beg, borrow or steal - that they do but what else above and beyond!!! our brains are brain dead in paperwork, juggling the never-ending maze of bureaucracy, both at our parent org & at grant awarding org.

3/n i don't know who actually is in charge. everyone wants to help but no one is in charge who can take the bull by the horn. who should we write or speak to?

4/n rather than nrf/mission-mode projects w hundreds of crores, the @PrinSciAdvGoI should sort out problems that are the low-hanging fruits. paying folks/fellowships in time and releasing money in time should be the top priority. the rest can wait. @nandita_j

5/n most sci projects don't need big money. it requires timely release of money, right grant admin, simplification of paperwork, paying folks in time - the issues that are stopping indian science to go to the next height. this is the story of every single small lab in india.

6/n the most troubling thing is that everyone wants to help, everyone is well meaning and they all sympathize but no one can get things done. it is the system. how do we move from here? there is a stalemate.

7/n from my personal experience, program officers in the funding agencies are all well meaning and want to help but they are overworked, stretched, fully-booked for so many things that they are juggling with. they also need help.

8/n the best solution, imho, is to stop getting new rfps appear or new projects getting sanctioned. stop all meetings/committees until all the backlogs get cleared. #science #education #Scholarships #grants

9/n india is the it superpower, yea - sure. look at our grant sub/update website. saying it sucks will be an understatement. can't we spend a couple of crores by giving the contract to infosys/wipro/tcs/others for them to build one of the top portal for paper submission?

10/n india is becoming a place for 3 kinds to do science - 1. asslickers who get things done no matter who's on the throne, 2. jugadu who knows who to navigate the sys, and 3. ones with godfathers who take care of their disciples. anyone disagrees belongs to one of these #science

11/n all the sci jouno/reporter fraternity - if you want to help indian sci go to the next level & i know all of you do, please make sure that we raise this issue that curtails indian science profoundly. damn it, we need release of student fellowships/grant money in time. period.

12/n now there is a new kid in the block, called treasury single account (tsa) that promises the oasis in the desert. perhaps, it is but what do the project fellows do till then, go thirsty and suffer from severe dehydration and perhaps die!!!!!

13/n forget about science. most folks mistake that we are raising this for doing science. yup, ignorance is bliss. this has nothing to do with science but for basic bare-minimum survival.