Modi Sarkar Looks To End The Brain Drain, Announces Fellowships To Foster Research In India

With a firm eye on reducing the number of students going abroad for research, the Government of India has launched the Prime Minister’s Research Fellow’s (PMRF) scheme to hand out research grants to promising students from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) who wish to pursue a PhD.

A total of Rs 1,650 crore has been allotted for spending under the PMRF over the next three years and scholars will be eligible for scholarships of Rs 70,000 per month in the first year to Rs 80,000 per month in the fourth and fifth years while select scholars would receive annual research grants of Rs 2 lakh. The number of potential reciepients has been capped at 3,000 per year.

The PMRF will begin in the academic year of 2018-19 and the minimum eligibility criteria for students will be a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 8.5. Students in their final year of a B Tech or M Tech programme at any of the listed institutions would be eligible to apply.

Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Prakash Javadekar added that the Prime Minister Modi would advise students on dealing with exam stress and approach them positively during a programme titled ‘Pareeksha pe Charcha,’ scheduled for 16 February.