London: A new Ramanujan Junior Researchers Programme, supported by India's Department for Science and Technology (DST), will enable some of the country's brightest young theoretical physicists and mathematicians to work at the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS) for joint research.

Unveiled following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent visit to India, the scheme honours the legendary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan and his collaboration with British mathematician G. H. Hardy, whose partnership in 1913 left a lasting impact on modern mathematics.

“Our Ramanujan Junior Researchers programme will act as a bridge for the exchange of talents between two science superpowers,” said Dr Thomas Fink, Director of LIMS. He noted that the Ramanujan-Hardy partnership and previous successful fellowships for theorists from Russia and Ukraine inspired this new initiative.

The campaign to secure government support was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami, with assistance from Professor Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan, former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

“The story of Hardy and Ramanujan reminds us that science advances not through isolation, but through friendship and dialogue,” Doraiswami said. “This programme will give young Indian scientists the same chance Ramanujan once had — to test their ideas in the world's most stimulating environments.”

The DST-funded first phase will bring PhD students — called Ramanujan Junior Visitors — from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) to LIMS at the Royal Institution in London's Mayfair for several months of collaborative research and lectures.

Initially, up to six PhD students will participate, with later expansion planned to include outstanding young researchers from across India.

In phase two, the programme will introduce Ramanujan Junior Fellowships, offering early-career scientists from India the opportunity to work at LIMS for three years, strengthening India-UK research ties.

LIMS, based at the Royal Institution, is a world-class research centre focused on full-time discovery, known for its contributions to several Nobel Prizes, the discovery of ten chemical elements, and the principles of electromagnetism.