IIT Scholars can be Given Rs. 75,000 Fellowship with Refund Clause: HRD Ministry

With an objective to promote higher education in the country and retain talent, Ministry of Human Resource and Development has proposed that the selected Ph.D. fellows at Indian Institutes of Technology can be given Rs. 75,000 per month. The fellowship can be provided under Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Programme.

The HRD Ministry also laid down some conditions for the fellowship scheme. The candidates who will be selected under this scheme need to refund the entire amount they have received if they leave the course midway. Through this, the ministry can avoid the misuse of the scheme.

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Currently, the proposal is under the consideration and the Cabinet is yet to give the nod for the scheme. If the proposal comes into effect, more students will be attracted to take up the Ph.D. course in IITs. The scheme could lay more emphasis on research which will, in turn, help IITs to improve their global rankings.

The fellowship will be awarded to those who wish to pursue research directly after B.Tech. Currently, there are around 25,000 research scholars enrolled for Ph.D. in various IITs across the country. The fellowship will also be awarded to those who wish to take up research after the completion of M.Tech.

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One of the officials of HRD Ministry indicated that the plan of the ministry is towards improving the quality of research. For making this possible, more students need to be attracted to take up Ph.D. after the completion of B.Tech degree. The fellowship amount the candidates receive is at par with the salaries paid by multinational companies. The proposal is likely to come into effect from the next academic session where 1,000 students will be inducted into it.