Ministry of Science & Technology provides various schemes aimed at encouraging young scientists to engage themselves with scientific activities / undertake research work.

The fellowships, awards as mentioned above offer liberal financial support in the form of fellowship ranging from Rs. 31,000/- to Rs. 1,35,000/- per month to scientists who are not in regular service, depending upon their qualification and nature of the scheme.

INSPIRE Faculty Fellow

Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) is a scheme of Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Indian citizens and people of Indian origin with PIO status having PhD degree from any recognized university in the world. Candidates shall possess a minimum of 60% (or equivalent CGPA) marks throughout their academic profile starting from the Higher Secondary Examination. Those who have submitted their PhD thesis and are awaiting the award of the degree are also eligible.
• Upper age limit of 32 years with relaxation of three years to applicants belonging to SC/ST categories. 42 years for persons with bench mark disability.

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National Postdoctoral Fellowship

National Postdoctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) is a programme of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Should be an Indian citizen. The applicant must have obtained Ph.D/M.D/M.S degree or have submitted PhD/M.D/M.S thesis.
• Upper age limit of 35 years with relaxation of five years to applicants belonging to SC/ST/OBC/ Physically Challenged/Women categories.

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Start-up Research Grant

Start-up Research Grant is a programme of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Should be an Indian citizen. Foreign Nationals (including PIO, OCI), working as regular employee in any of the public funded and recognized R&D laboratories/institutions in India, are eligible to apply in collaboration with an Indian scientist, provided they fulfill the eligibility criteria notified by SERB.
• Should hold PhD degree in Science or Engineering or M.D. / M.S. / M.D.S. / M.V.Sc. degree.
• Should hold a regular academic/research position in a recognized academic institution or national laboratories or any other recognized R&D institutions.
• Should apply within two years of joining the institution.
• Upper age limit of 42 years with relaxation of three years to applicants belonging to SC/ST/OBC/ Physically Challenged/Women categories.

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Ramanujan Fellowship

Ramanujan Fellowship is a programme of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Open to brilliant Indian scientists and engineers working abroad. The applicant should possess a higher degree or equivalent, such as PhD in Science/ Engineering, Masters in Engineering or Technology/ MD in Medicine, etc. and have adequate professional experience.
• Upper age limit of 40 years.

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Teacher Associate-ship for Research Excellence

Teacher Associate-ship for Research Excellence is a programme of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Should be Indian citizen residing in India holding PhD degree in Science or MS / MD in Medicine or M.E. / M.Tech. in Engineering / Technology.
• Should hold a regular academic / research position in State Universities/ Colleges and private Academic Institutions.
• Upper age limit of 45 years with relaxation of five years to applicants belonging to SC/ST/OBC/ Physically Challenged/Women categories.

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Fellowship / Associate-ship

Fellowship / Associate-ship is a programme of the  Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Junior Research Fellowships are awarded to candidates holding BS-4 years program/BE/B. Tech/B. Pharma/MBBS/ Integrated BS-MS/M.Sc. or Equivalent degree/B.Sc. (Hons) or equivalent degree holders or students enrolled in integrated MS-Ph.D program with at least 55% marks for General & OBC (50% for SC/ST candidates, Physically and Visually handicapped candidates) after qualifying the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by CSIR.
• Upper age limit of 28-40 years.

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Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship

Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship is a programme of Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Should possess a PhD/MD or equivalent degree with an outstanding track record. Only candidates (Indian nationals) working overseas are eligible to apply. Those who have already returned to India within one year of the closing date of the advertisement but without a job are also eligible.
• Upper age limit of 45 years.

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Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award

Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award is a programme of Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

• Should be an Indian citizen with excellent academic credentials.
• Should have a PhD in any branch of life sciences, computational sciences (applied to biotechnology, medicine or biological sciences), veterinary sciences, pharmaceutical sciences and agricultural sciences. Master degree holders in medicine or dentistry (MD/MS/MDS or IMC designated equivalent) and engineering/technology (M.Tech or AICTE designated equivalent) are also eligible.
• Upper age limit of 35 years of age with relaxation of 5 years to applicants belonging to SC/ST/OBC/ Physically Challenged/Women categories.

For more details, click here.