Union Cabinet Gives Nod for Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Scheme
- The Prime Minister Research Fellows (PMRF) scheme was announced in the Union Budget recently.
- Under the scheme, fellows will have to teach at industrial training institutes (ITIs) once a week.
On February 07, 2018, the Union Cabinet approved the Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) scheme. At the same time, the Cabinet approved Rs. 1,650 crore for PMRF scheme for a period of seven years. The PMRF scheme will come into effect from the 2018-19 academic session. According to PMRF scheme, 1,000 bright students from higher learning institutes and universities will be selected, and these students will be awarded Rs. 75,000 per month to carry out research activities. PMRF scholarship scheme will bring a new era of research and innovation.
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As per PMRF Scheme, bright students pursuing integratedM.Tech or final-year B.Tech in IIITs, IISERs, NITs, IITs and IISc will be selected for PMRF scheme. These students will be offered directed admission to the Ph.D. course in IISc or IITs. Recently, the central government announced that it would take steps to offer direct Ph.D. entry to bright students of other engineering colleges and universities across the country.
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Highlights of PMRF Scheme: -
- The selected students will get a fellowship/ scholarship amount of Rs. 70,000 per month for the initial two years, followed by Rs. 75,000 per month for the third year and Rs. 80,000 per month for the fourth and fifth years.
- Apart from the monthly fellowship, these students will get a research grant of Rs. 2,00,000 for five years to cover foreign travel expenses.
- These students can visit foreign countries to present research papers, participate in international conferences and seminars.
- The government is aiming to select 3,000 fellows in the first three years.
- The government hopes that the quality of engineering education would be improved if these students engage themselves in teaching at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) once in a week.
In September 2017, HRD Minister, Mr. Prakash Javadekar signed the Cabinet Note and moved tabled the proposal to implement PMRF scheme before the Union Cabinet.