New Delhi: The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology today introduced the "Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Bill 2010" in the Lok Sabha.

The purpose of the bill is to establish an Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR) as an institution of national importance with powers to award degrees.

On June 17, 2010, the Cabinet had approved the proposal for setting up AcSIR as an institution for imparting instruction and awarding degrees in frontier areas of science and technology.

The Government has also approved that an interim Academy be established even before the enactment of the comprehensive legislation for setting up the Academy so as to initiate its academic session by August-September 2010.

"It has been proposed to set-up AcSIR for substantially increasing the number of researchers in integrative and interdisciplinary areas of science and engineering in a cost-effective manner without requirement of any significant gestation period and additional funds from the Government," said an official press release today.

"The Academy would offer a one-stop solution to meet the requirement in higher education by leveraging the strengths of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) comprising around 4500 scientists in diverse branches of science and engineering and utilizing its research and development infrastructure."