India Announces Major Reforms for Ease of Innovation, Research, and Science

Current Context: Dr. Jitendra Singh announced major policy reforms on June 15, 2025, aimed at enhancing the Ease of Innovation, Ease of Research, and Ease of Science in India.

• These reforms focus on reducing bureaucratic hurdles and empowering research institutions.

Key Highlights

• Procurement Reforms: Directors of scientific institutions and Vice Chancellors can now bypass GeM (Government e-Marketplace) for specialized research equipment.

Financial Thresholds Increased:

• Direct purchase limit raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh.
• Departmental committee purchases increased from ₹1-10 lakh to ₹2-25 lakh.
• Limited tender and advertised tender limits doubled from ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore.
• Global Tender Enquiries (GTEs) up to ₹200 crore can now be approved by institutional heads.

Streamlining Research Processes: The reforms aim to reduce delays and increase autonomy for scientists and scholars.

Question:

Q.1 What is the new financial threshold for direct purchases by scientific institutions under the recent reforms?
a) ₹50,000
b) ₹1 lakh
c) ₹2 lakh
d) ₹5 lakh

Answer: c) The earlier limit for direct purchases was ₹1 lakh, which has now been doubled to ₹2 lakh to reduce bureaucratic delays.