Please spread this call. Thanks
The Program for the Archiving of Science and Technology (PAST) is a flagship program of the Archives at NCBS aimed at digital preservation of, and enabling digital access to, at-risk archival material. It is a 12-month program for archival appraisal, standards-compliant archival description, digitization and digital preservation, and mirroring of archival data at the Archives at NCBS. PAST features year-long training, funding support, expert inputs and guidelines, skill development exercises, and more.
Eight projects participated in PAST Cohort #1 (2025-26), resulting in 26 collections. Project catalogues and digital assets were made accessible to the public in February 2026 and are compiled here.
The Archives at NCBS is pleased to announce the application process for the second cohort of PAST. We invite applications for projects to enable digital access to archival material that are rare, endangered, of archival value, and related to the history of science and technology in contemporary India (approximately between 1850 and 2000). The program focuses on under-represented and marginalised histories in science-technology-engineering-mathematics/medicine (STEM). Each project should typically outline names for three roles:
- An individual lead applicant (referred to as “Lead Applicant”) who is an Indian citizen.
- A Host Organisation, legally registered in India, to collaborate with for archiving and digitization for collections identified
- An archival source for the material (referred to as “Source”), which could also be the host organisation
Budget: Up to Rs. 12,00,000 (Twelve lakhs) inclusive of all taxes. Funding support is provided for the following expenses:
1. Project personnel costs (including lead applicant and/or persons selected by the Lead Applicant). All project personnel will be hired directly by NCBS for the duration of the project. This should be at least 50% of the total amount.
2. Up to INR 6 lakhs will be covered towards expenses for accession, processing, and digitization of identified material.
Applications Open: 14 September 2026
Online Information Sessions: 4:00 PM IST on 21 September 2026, 30 September 2026, 15 October 2026. Register for the online information sessions at: https://ncbs-res-in.zoom.us/meeting/register/iRDTAe5uS1eEqRhyGUlucg
Application Deadline: 23 October 2026
Announcement of Final Projects: 15 January 2027
Cohort 2 Project Timeline: 01 February 2027 to 31 January 2028
The Archives at NCBS is committed in engaging with ways to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion. We would be happy to provide information about the program in a language other than English. Please contact archives@ncbs.res.in if you need help translating the form or have an idea, but are uncertain whether it would fit. We are happy to help you out!
Full details on the call for proposals below, and also available as an information booklet (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZoQO5lxsXXGgz38GdJXzpFj7NkAjED6A/view)
If you have questions, write to us: archives@ncbs.res.in