This contract continues support for an independent oversight panel of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council to assess progess and results of cooperative research projects under the U.S.-India Science and Technology Initiative (STI). The oversight panel will be responsible for evaluating progress in the four basic areas of STI: Health, Agriculture, Solid State Science and Engineering, Monsoon Research; and new initiatives in infectious diseases (AIDS, Neurological Disorders, Leishmaniasis), the 1987 Monsoon Drought, and cooperation on the Superconducting Supercollider. The Oversight Panel will report annually its findings directly to the U.S. Senior Policy Group (SPG) chaired by the President's Science Adviser. Panel members will interact with program coordinators of the STI research areas, with the Senior Policy Group, and with the counterpart Indian oversight panel. The proposal was submitted in response to RFP ESS 89-002. As Executive Agent for STI, the NSF's Division of International Programs is responsible for supporting the NAS/NRC oversight panel as set forth in the January 1983 Scientific Panel Report to President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which established this initiative. Since 1983, the STI has been renewed twice, most recently, in October 1988 for a three year period. In view of the importance of this Presidential scientific initiative and the usefulness of panel evaluations in 1985 and 1988, the NSF recommends continued support.
