The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Sushri Pratima Bhoumik, provided information regarding OBC students benefitting from Center's National Fellowship Scheme in a written response today. In the fiscal year 2022–2023, 1070 Other Backward Class (OBC) students benefited from the. In the previous five years, this is the largest number of beneficiaries.
324 students benefited in the 2018–19 fiscal year and 810 students in the 2019–20 fiscal year, according to data presented in the Rajya Sabha. In addition, the figure rose to 722 in the fiscal year 2020–21 and 831 in the fiscal year 2021–22.
Goal of National Fellowship Scheme
According to the minister, the goal of the government's National Fellowship Scheme for OBC students is to empower them through education by providing fellowships, or financial aid, to pursue high-quality postsecondary education. The program's goal is to award 1000 Junior Research Fellowships annually to individuals who meet the eligibility requirements for UGC-Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (UGC-CSIR) NET-JRF Joint Test (for Sciences) or National Eligibility Test – Junior Research Fellowship (NET-JRF) of UGC (for Humanities/Social Sciences) examinations, enabling them to pursue further coursework and research leading to an MPhil or PhD degree.
Eligibility
After completing the necessary admissions procedures, an OBC student accepted into an M.Phil. or Ph.D. program at a university or other academic institution is eligible to receive a fellowship, subject to the program's rules and the UGC's advertisement. JRF and SRF awards can only be made for a maximum of five years in total. The fellowship will be awarded starting on the day the student registers for the M.Phil./Ph.D. program. The only people who qualify for the fellowship are those enrolled full-time in standard M.Phil. or Ph.D. programs at universities or research institutions.
Scholarship price range
For two years, the JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) will pay anywhere between Rs 31,000 and Rs 37,000 per month.
For Senior Research Fellowships (SRFs), the monthly payment ranges from Rs 35,000 to Rs 42,000 for the remaining period of the fellowship.
