Japan's LOTUS programme picks 188 Indian institutions for 953 projects; IIT) Hyderabad gets 79
Japan’s LOTUS programme has selected 188 Indian institutions for 953 research projects in its FY2026. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad received the highest number at 79. IIT Roorkee follows with 69 projects, while IIT Guwahati has secured 60, according to the published list of India-side institutions.
IIT Bombay has been selected for 59 projects, followed by IIT Kharagpur with 35. IIT Delhi and IIT Madras have secured 31 projects each, while IIT (BHU) Varanasi and IIT Kanpur have received 27 each.
The selections span government-funded technical institutes, private universities and specialised research organisations. The 953 projects cover both LOTUS Basic and LOTUS-ASPIRE, with institutional details recorded at the time proposals were submitted.
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What is the LOTUS programme?
Japan’s LOTUS programme run by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), supports research exchanges between India and Japan. Research projects are “jointly supervised by faculty members from both countries”, according to the official notification.
This programme has two structures, LOTUS Basic and LOTUS-ASPIRE. The basic LOTUS programme includes a one year stay in Japan for Indian scholars to set up a foundation for Japan-India joint research. Whereas LOTUS-ASPIRE supports long-term stays in Japan up to 3 years for researchers to produce independent papers and conference presentations.
The LOTUS programme will strengthen the joint researches of scholars from India and Japan and continue the research in Japan’s academic institutions.
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Top institutions by projects
Government-funded Indian Institutes of Technology dominate the top positions, while private institutions are also represented. Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani has secured 25 projects is a private deemed-to-be university, which specialises in science, engineering and technology.
Institutes | Number of LOTUS project |
|---|---|
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad | 79 |
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee | 69 |
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati | 60 |
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | 59 |
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | 35 |
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi | 31 |
Indian Institute of Technology Madras | 31 |
Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi | 27 |
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur | 27 |
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani | 25 |
The selection list highlights the scale of Indian institutional participation in Japan-linked research, with projects distributed across institutions working in science, engineering, technology and other research areas. The project count represents selected projects, not the number of individual researchers.