In order increase the research in science and technology the union Government has issued new guidelines under the Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme. The fellowship for the science and technology researchers has been increased considerably.
The research fellowship will be ₹ 70,000 for first two years, in the third year it will be ₹75,000, and for the last two years it will be ₹80,000. The researchers will get a grant of ₹2 lakh each for five years. The timeframe for the research is four years for the integrated, M.Tech and MS courses, while for the B.tech it is for five years.
IIT Hyderabad was entrusted with a responsibility as national convener for the science and technology research activity. The HRD ministry has asked universities and higher educational institutions to create awareness about the research fellowship. The new guidelines for research fellowship will be applicable for 2019 fellowship selection.
As per the new fellow ship guidelines the researcher should create project draft on the research topic and submit it for the approval. The project should be based on science and technology subject, and should have a national importance. The project should also reflect the interest of the research fellow and his capacity. The research aspirant has to suggest two names for reference to take feedback on the project.
The government has set up a special website for PMRF. The aspirants can submit their applications which will reach the concerned nodal institutes, which will in turn, appoint expert committees to conduct interviews and provide selected list. The national convener committee (NCC) will further screen the candidates by conducting a written test and group discussions and then will give a final list of names for the research fellowship.
The NCC has a right to make changes in the research guidelines and it also has the right to decide how many researchers need to be selected. The selection guidelines for the research fellowship will prepared by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Sciences (IISC), and Indian Institutes of science education and research (IISER).