Dr Kasturirangan Trust Launched to Support Young Researchers in India

The Dr Kasturirangan Trust was launched at an inaugural event in Bengaluru on October 25 to carry forward the legacy of Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, whose contributions over six decades helped shape India’s progress in space, science and technology, and education.

The Trust aims to support research, encourage new ideas and find practical solutions to the problems society faces. Its work will focus on four areas: space and technology, education, sustainability, and public policy.
 

L-R: Anurag Behar, Dr. Sanjay Rangan, Dr Mukund Kasursrinivas Rao, Trustees of the Dr Kasturirangan Trust​
 

The Trust will support researchers through fellowships, scholarships and grants. It will also organise conferences, support book-writing and scientific curation, and work with institutions in India and abroad to promote research and improve public policy.

In the long term, the Trust aims to build an institution dedicated to future-oriented thought, research and problem-solving for India.

Dr. Sanjay Rangan, Trustee of the Dr Kasturirangan Trust, said, “Dr. Kasturirangan believed in the power of knowledge and research to address the challenges facing our country. Through this Trust, we hope to carry forward his vision by bringing people and institutions together to find solutions that benefit society and support future leaders.”

The Trust is guided by Dr. Kasturirangan’s values of responsible research, compassion, excellence and respect for nature. It is a non-profit, non-political public charitable trust, governed by a Board of Trustees, an Advisory Board and an Executive Council.

First initiative: Dr Kasturirangan 2027 Fellowship

The Trust’s first initiative, the Dr Kasturirangan 2027 Fellowship, will support six PhD and post-doctoral researchers whose work spans more than one of the Trust’s four focus areas and has real-world application. Each fellow will receive a one-time award of Rs. 4 lakh towards research costs, along with mentorship, two workshops a year to present their work, and a place in a growing peer community.

The fellowship is open to candidates who submitted their PhD thesis between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026. In its first year, candidates must be nominated, either by a group of eminent individuals who knew Dr. Kasturirangan or by leading universities; an open call for applications is planned for later years. Nominations open on October 27, 2026 and close on December 31, 2026, and the first cohort of fellows will be announced on April 25, 2027.

About Dr. K. Kasturirangan
Dr. K. Kasturirangan (1940–2025) was a space scientist who led India’s space programme as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from 1994 to 2003, and went on to shape national science and education policy as a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), a Member of the Planning Commission and Chairman of the committee that drafted the National Education Policy 2020. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2000.

For more information

Dr Kasturirangan Trust

Email id - [email protected]

Website - drkasturirangantrust.org