On Wednesday the Cabinet approved implementation of the ‘Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF)’ scheme which is going to offer fellowship for PhD programmes in IITs and IISc at a total cost of Rs 1,650 crore for a period of seven years beginning 2018-19.
The students who have completed or are in the final year of B. Tech or Integrated M.Tech or M.Sc. in Science and Technology streams from IISc, IITs, NITs, IISERs and IIITs will be offered direct admission in PhD programmes in the IITs and IISc under the Scheme.
“Apart from this, a research grant of Rs 2 lakh will be provided to each of the fellows for a period of five years to cover their foreign travel expenses for presenting research papers in international conferences and seminars. A maximum of 3000 Fellows would be selected in a three year period, beginning 2018-19,” said a government statement, announcing the Cabinet decision.
It said, “The scheme will go a long way in tapping talent pool of the country for carrying out research indigenously in cutting edge science and technology domains. The research under the Scheme will address our national priorities at the one hand and shortage of quality faculty in the premier educational institutions of the country, on the other.”
