What is the full form of ICMR

ICMR

ICMR stands for Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It is an apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research. It is funded by the Govt. of India through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.

Vision:

Translating research into action for improving the health of the population

Mission:

• To generate, manage and disseminate knowledge
• To give emphasis on research on the health issues of the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections of the society
• To adopt and encourage the use of advanced biology tools in addressing health problems of the country
• To encourage innovation regarding diagnostics, treatment, vaccines and other methods for prevention of diseases

In 1911, the Govt. of India established the Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) in order to sponsor and coordinate medical research in the country. After independences, many important changes were made in the organization and it was renamed the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 1949.

Major Functions:

1) The council has 26 Research Institutes/Centres to carry out Intramural research. These research institutes include 21 mission-oriented national institutes, established in different parts of the country, and 5 regional medical research centers. The mission-oriented national institutes address research on specific health issues like cholera, leprosy, tuberculosis, diarrhea, viral diseases, malaria, nutrition, reproduction, oncology, medical statistics etc.

2) For promoting extramural research, ICMR took the following initiatives:

• Establishes Centers for Advanced Research in different areas of research
• Task force studies, which are national projects, are formulated taking into consideration the national priority areas of research. Its task forces and other committees help scientists collaborate with expertise and infrastructure available to undertake research.
• Open-ended research is conducted on the basis of applications, for grants-in-aid, received from scientists of medical colleges, universities and non-ICMR research institutes.

3) ICMR promotes human resource development in biomedical research through Research Fellowships, Short-term Research Studentships, and Short-Term Visiting Fellowships and various other training programmes and workshops.

Furthermore, the council offers the designation of Emeritus Scientist to the retired scientist and teachers to enable them continue their research work or start a new research. It also awards prizes to scientists for their contribution to biomedical research. At present, it is offering 38 awards, 11 out of which are exclusively for the young scientists.