Central Sector Scheme of National Fellowship for Providing Fellowship to Scheduled Caste Students to Pursue M.Phil. & PhD

"Central Sector Scheme of National Fellowship for Providing Fellowship to Scheduled Caste Students to Pursue M.Phil. & PhD" is a Fellowship Scheme by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. The scheme was introduced during the financial year 2005-06 to provide opportunities to Scheduled Castes students to pursue higher education leading to M.Phil/Ph.D degrees in Sciences, Humanities and Social Science streams. The objective of the scheme is to provide fellowships in the form of financial assistance to students belonging to the SC category to pursue higher studies leading to an M.Phil/Ph.D in Science, Humanities, or Social Science, in Indian Universities/Institutions/Colleges recognized by UGC. UGC is the nodal agency for implementing the scheme and is responsible for laying down procedures/ guidelines for implementing the scheme, including selection of beneficiaries and disbursement of fellowships to selected candidates.

Number of Slots

1. The scheme provides for 2000 new Fellowships (1500 Junior Research Fellows for Humanities/ Social Sciences and 500 Junior Research Fellows for Science stream) per year.
2. These slots are over and above the number of SC students selected under the normal reservation policy of the Government for UGC Fellowships.

Validity

1. The fellowship shall be paid from the date of issue of the JRF award letter under the Scheme for National Fellowship or the date of joining the M.Phil./Ph.D., whichever is later.
2. The fellowship shall be granted upto the date of submission of the Ph.D. thesis or five years of tenure, whichever is earlier. No extension is permissible beyond the total period of five years of fellowship.
3. Confirmation for continuation of the fellowship shall be given by the University twice a year on a semester basis within the 10th of the initial month of the semester. Based on this certification, the research scholars would be released the fellowship within the 15th of every month without any further intervention of the university.
4. With regard to the combined course of M.Phil and PhD, Fellowship will be provided initially for 02 years for M.Phil and after upgradation to Ph.D course, for another 03 years.
5. In case of integrated Ph.D. or M.Phil. to Ph.D., the maximum tenure is 5 years including the M.Phil. period of fellowship. For doing M.Phil., fellowship shall be granted for two years or upto the date of submission of the M.Phil. dissertation, whichever is earlier.

Duration of the Fellowship

1. Name of the Course: M.Phil; Maximum Duration: 2 Years; Admissibility for JRF: 2 Years; Admissibility for SRF: NIL
2. Name of the Course: PhD; Maximum Duration: 5 Years; Admissibility for JRF: 2 Years; Admissibility for SRF: Remaining 3 Years
3. Name of the Course: M.Phil + PhD; Maximum Duration: 5 Years; Admissibility for JRF: 2 Years; Admissibility for SRF: Remaining 3 Years

Rate of Fellowship

Head: Fellowship in All Streams
Rate Applicable for JRF: ₹ 31,000/- p.m. for initial two years
Rate Applicable for SRF: ₹35,000/-p.m. for remaining tenure
Head: Contingency for Humanities & Social Sciences
Rate Applicable for JRF: ₹10,000/- p.a. for initial two years
Rate Applicable for SRF: ₹20,500/- p.a. for remaining tenure
Head: Contingency for Sciences
Rate Applicable for JRF: ₹12,000/- p.a. for initial two years
Rate Applicable for SRF: ₹25,000/-p.a. for remaining tenure.
Head: Escort/ Reader Assistance (All Subjects) for Physically and Visually Handicapped Candidates
Rate Applicable for JRF: ₹2,000/-p.m.
Rate Applicable for SRF: ₹ 2,000/-p.m.
Head: House Rent Allowance (HRA)
Rate Applicable: 8%, 16% and 24% to those students who are not provided with hostel accommodation, in accordance with Govt. of India norms as applicable in the city/location where the research fellows are working.

Mode of Disbursal

The disbursal of the fellowship will be directly into the beneficiary's Aadhaar-linked Bank Account via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

1. The applicant should be from a Scheduled Caste.
2. The applicant should be pursuing regular and full-time advanced studies/ research leading to an M.Phil/PhD Degree.
3. The applicant should have qualified one of the following tests:
   a) National Eligibility Test - Junior Research Fellowship (NET - JRF) of UGC.
   b) UGC - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (UGC - CSIR) NET - JRF Joint Test.
4. The applicant should be pursuing the program from a University/Institution recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as follows:
   a) Central/State Universities (including constituent and affiliated institutions) are included under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act,1956 and has valid accreditation from NAAC.
   b) Deemed Universities under Section 3 of the UGC Act i.e. Institutions for higher education notified by the Central Government to be deemed University, in consultation with UGC and having valid accreditation from NAAC.
   c) The institutions fully funded by the State/Central Government and empowered to award degrees.
   d) Institutions of National Importance as notified by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
5. A scholar is eligible to receive only one fellowship at a time. The scholar will not accept/receive any other monetary benefit/ scholarship/ fellowship from any other source.

Reservation/ Relaxation/ Preference/ Priority

1. Scheduled Castes candidates who have already secured admission and qualify NET examination will be given preference. Such candidates will be required to join the fellowship within 3 months of the issue of the JRF award letter.
2. There will be an inclusive provision of reservation for Person with Disabilities (PwD) who belongs to the SC category for consideration as per norms of the existing quota of PwD., as per 'The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016". The minimum degree of disability should be 40% in order to be eligible for any concessions/benefits.

NOTE: In case sufficient candidates, who have already secured admission are unavailable, candidates who have not yet secured admission will also be selected in the order of merit in the NET examination.

1. Employees of any University/College/Educational Institution/Central/ State/ UT Government shall be excluded from availing Fellowship, even if they are on Study Leave or Extra Ordinary Leave to pursue the M.Phil./Ph.D. course.
2. A scholar who does not complete his/her research work during the period of fellowship shall not be eligible to apply again under this scheme.
3. Similarly, a scholar who has completely or partially availed any of these fellowships for PhD earlier shall also not be eligible for fellowship under this scheme.

Online

Call of Applications

UGC will advertise/ invite online applications from NET/UGC -CSIR joint tests qualified candidates for the award of National Fellowship for SC students. The selection for the award of fellowship to students will be made on the basis of the merit of each UGC-NET-JRF or UGC-CSIRNET-JRF examination.

Preparation of Merit List

1. The merit for the award of fellowships under NFSC will be drawn up through the NET examination.
2. Preference will be given to such students who have already secured admission. Such candidates are required to join the fellowship within 3 months of the issue of the JRF award letter under the Scheme.
3. However, in case sufficient such candidates are not available, candidates who have not secured admission will also be selected in the order of merit in the NET examination. A separate merit list will be drawn up for such candidates if required.

Intimation of the Results

The results shall be published on the UGC website. Award letters can be downloaded from the UGC online application portal or as advertised by UGC.