Institutionalising international research collaboration is key to reversing brain drain into brain circulation. Discuss.

Brain circulation is the two-way flow of talent: researchers train abroad and return with skills and networks. The Letter of Intent signed by DST and the UNESCO-linked International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, in November 2026 to create an India-ICTP Co-operation Fund for researcher mobility [1] shows how institutions can enable this flow. Institutions are necessary for it, but they are not enough on their own.

How institutionalisation enables brain circulation

• Continuity over ad hoc links: a dedicated fund replaces personality-driven exchanges with a predictable pipeline of visiting fellowships, diploma programmes and postdoctoral positions [1].
• Exposure without emigration: structured stints give access to a global hub while researchers stay anchored to CSIR, universities and IITs [1].
• Two-way flow: outbound mobility complements VAJRA, which brings overseas scientists, including NRIs, to Indian institutions for limited periods [2].

Why it is not sufficient

• Thin home base: GERD was only 0.64% of GDP in 2020-21 [3], and India had about 255 researchers per million people in 2017 [4]. Returning fellows find few posts, labs or grants.
• Brain drain unrecognised: in 2021 the Ministry told the Lok Sabha that brain drain was not significantly affecting development [2], so return rates go untracked.
• Fragile funding: an LoI is non-binding and discloses no corpus [1]. DST's allocation was cut at the revised-estimate stage in 2020-21 due to COVID-19, as the Standing Committee noted [5], so unprotected budget lines are cut first.
• Elite capture: without broad-based selection, the benefits stay with institutions that are already well networked.

Way forward

• A fixed corpus and a separate line in DST's Demands for Grants.
• Priority start-up grants from the Anusandhan National Research Foundation for returning fellows.
• Annual outcome reporting: return rates, joint papers, workshops held in India, and the share of fellows from state universities.

Institutionalised collaboration builds the channel, but domestic research capacity decides whether talent flows back. Pairing mobility funds like the India-ICTP fund with higher R&D spending and return incentives can turn brain drain into lasting brain circulation, advancing SDG 9 on innovation.