The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) has taken a unique initiative to support the research efforts of bright young minds of the Country by developing the Studentship Program for Ayurveda Research Ken (SPARK) for Ayurveda (BAMS) students studying in recognized Ayurveda colleges.

Pramod Kumar Pathak, Special Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, and Vaidya Jayant Yeshwant Deopujari, chairperson, National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) launched the fellowship scheme and the application portal in the presence of Prof. Sanjeev Sharma, Director-cum-Vice Chancellor In-Charge, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, and Prof. R.N. Acharya, Director General, CCRAS, Dr. Sulochana Bhatt, Director, CARI, Bengaluru, Dr. M.M. Rao, Director, CARI, Bhubaneswar and Research Officers of the Central Ayurveda Research Institute, Bhubaneswar.

“CCRAS has taken many commendable initiatives in recent times, especially during the COVID-pandemic. The Council has not only developed popular formulations such as Ayush-64, it has 18 formulations and technologies to its credit also,” Pramod Kumar said.

“I am confident that the SPARK Program developed by the Council will support the innovative ideas of young students and promote the culture of evidence-based scientific research in Traditional Medicine," he further said.

“With the guidance and support from the Ministry of Ayush, CCRAS has developed and implemented a wide range of schemes and programs to serve the citizens,” Prof Acharya said. By developing meaningful collaborations with premiere academic research institutions within and outside of the country, such as IIT, ICMR, ICAR, JNU, BHU, AIIMS, etc., the Council has sped up quality research activity in the domains of Ayurveda and allied sciences. The SPARK program is primarily developed to help students develop an acumen for research and to further support and incentivize their research ideas," he added.

The Council is currently working on research and development projects in collaboration with leading research institutions in Romania, Germany, Israel, the USA, Canada, and the World Health Organization (WHO). “With an aim to complement the efforts of the Ministry of Ayush for promotion and propagation of Ayurveda education across the world, the Council has collaborated with international premier educational institutions and set up Ayurveda Chair in 11 countries,” Prof. Acharya said.

‘SPARK’ aims to support the research ideas of young undergraduate students enrolled in Ayurveda Colleges across India. The application process for SPARK will be completely online -- www.spark.ccras.nic.in.

Interested candidates will be required to submit their research proposals through the SPARK Portal. Experts will evaluate the same. The selected fellows will be offered financial support of Rs. 50,000 under the fellowship. Initially, there will be 100 seats per session and further details may be accessed at the program portal.

ENDS