National Mission on Advanced and High-Impact Research (MAHIR)

• The government has launched a ‘Mission on Advanced and High-Impact Research (MAHIR)’ with a view to leverage emerging technologies in the power sector and make the country a manufacturing hub.
• It aims to facilitate indigenous research, development and demonstration of the latest and emerging technologies in the power sector.
• The Mission will be funded by pooling financial resources of the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Central Public Sector Enterprises under the two Ministries. Additional funding will be mobilized from Government of India’s budgetary resources.
• The mission is Planned for an initial period of five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28.

MISSION OBJECTIVES

• To identify emerging technologies and areas of future relevance for the Global Power Sector and take up indigenous end-to-end development of relevant technologies.
• To provide a common platform for Power Sector Stakeholders for collective brainstorming, synergetic technology development and devise pathways for smooth transfer of technology.
• To support pilot projects of indigenous technologies (developed especially by Indian Start-ups) and facilitate their commercialization.
• To leverage foreign alliances and partnerships to accelerate research & development of advanced technologies and to build competencies, capabilities and access to advanced technologies through bilateral or multilateral collaborations, thereby facilitating exchange of knowhow and Technology Transfer.
• To seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial R&D and to create vibrant & innovative ecosystem in the Power Sector of the country.

EIGHT AREAS ARE IDENTIFIED FOR RESEARCH:

• Alternatives to Lithium-Ion storage batteries
• Modifying electric cookers / pans to suit Indian cooking methods
• Green hydrogen for mobility (High Efficiency Fuel Cell)
• Carbon capture
• Geo-thermal energy
• Solid state refrigeration
• Nano technology for EV battery
• Indigenous CRGO technology

 STRUCTURE OF THE MISSION

• The Mission will have a two-tier structure – a Technical Scoping Committee and an Apex Committee.
• The Technical Scoping Committee, chaired by the Chairperson of Central Electricity Authority, will identify ongoing and emerging research areas globally, recommend potential technologies for development under the Mission, justify the techno-economic advantages, provide research outlines, and conduct periodic monitoring of approved research projects.
• The Apex Committee, chaired by the Union Minister for Power & New and Renewable Energy will deliberate on the technology and products to be developed and approve the research proposals. The Apex committee will look also into international collaborations.