Only 13% of PM's research fellowships likely to be offered

The government is likely to offer only 135 out of the 1,000 fellowship positions announced under the recently launched Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) this year, The Indian Express has learnt.

Announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Union Budget earlier this year to fight ‘brain drain’, the PMRF aims to give 1,000 students direct admission to doctoral (PhD) programmes in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for carrying out research in cutting-edge science and technology domains, with focus on national priorities.

The opportunity, however, is limited to students who have either completed or are pursuing the final year of their B Tech or integrated M Tech or integrated M Sc from either IISc, IITs, National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) or Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs).

As per the latest status report, shared by IIT Hyderabad —tasked with screening applications and final selection — out of the 2,035 applicants interviewed across 18 disciplines, about 135 have been offered direct admission to PhD programmes in IISc and IITs in Mumbai, Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Roorkee, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Gandhinagar.

A total of 43 selected students — the highest — have been offered research opportunities in IISc, followed by IIT Bombay (24) and IIT Delhi (20). The biggest chunk of admissions offered have been cornered by candidates seeking to pursue research in mechanical engineering (26), material science and metallurgical engineering (24), interdisciplinary programmes in science and engineering (21), electrical engineering (21) and civil engineering (20).
Stringent selection procedure, government officials say, is the reason behind utilisation of just 13% of fellowship this year.

“This is the first year of the fellowship and the IITs and IISc set the bar really high for screening candidates. We want the brightest minds for this fellowship. The response is expected to improve with each passing year,” said a senior official, without wishing to be named.

Under PMRF a fellow will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 70,000 in the first two years of research, Rs 75,000 in the third year and Rs 80,000 in the last two years of PhD. That apart, each fellow is also eligible to receive an annual research grant of Rs 2 lakh.

While launching the scheme in February this year, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had said that the fellowship is expected to attract best talent in the country, which could go a long way in addressing faculty shortage in the country. “The initiative will convert brain drain into brain gain,” he had said then.
News Source (Indian Express)