Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) 2024: Apply Online for Cycle 11 Admission

The Government of India has launched a prime minister research fellowship for the excellent researchers of India. Under this fellowship, a better research environment will be provided to the student so that they can continue their research without worrying about any financial hurdles. The student who is enthusiastic about education in Science and technology can easily apply for this Fellowship by visiting the official website of PMRF. The application forms are easily available on the official website. Check out more information related to the Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) 2024 in the article given below.

About Prime Minister Research Fellowship

Prime Minister Research Fellowship will be helping the people who are not able to complete their Ph.D. programs because of the unavailability of adequate funds. You can now apply for the fellowship program by going to the official portal created by the Government of India to carry on all of the procedures related to this fellowship program. A large number of benefits are available to the beneficiaries who will apply for this program.

Also Check: National Fellowship for OBC

Importance of Prime Minister Research Fellowship- PMRF

The Government of India presented the Prime Minister Research Fellowship in order to improve the quality of research across India. This program is available in all of the major Institutes present in India and the students are motivated to apply for the fellowship program if they are interested in getting recognition directly by the government of India. The program is available for students who are currently pursuing education in science or Technology. The candidates will be selected through a prestigious selection procedure and the performance will be reviewed through a national convention because this is a very famous and one of the most important fellowship programs available in India. The program is of high importance because of its credibility. 

Objective of PMRF Fellowship

The main objective of this fellowship program is to create opportunities for the fellows who are not able to get research opportunities due to the extensive labor and financial assistance that it requires to be an unemployed person doing research in India. The beneficiaries will be getting up to Rs 2 lakh every year along with the financial rewards that are available differently for each academic year. This fellowship program is available on the official website created by the organization. You can take part in this fellowship program by visiting that specific website. The fellowship will work towards the development of a better research environment in India in order to help people who are not able to get research opportunities. Direct and lateral entry is allowed inside this fellowship program so you can take the entry accordingly.

Key Highlights of Prime Minister Research Fellowship

Name	Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) 2024
Launched by	Government of India
Objective	Providing a better research environment
Beneficiaries	Research applicants
Official Website	PMRF

Also Check: Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship

Important Dates 

• 12-July-2023: Portal opens and Institute coordinators can start uploading nominations.
• 07-Aug-2023: Deadline for nominations to be submitted by PMRF granting Institutes.  
• 11-Aug-2023: PMRF Portal opens for applicants, nominated applicants will be given login instructions by email.
• 18-Aug-2023: Submission deadline for applicants 
• 23-Aug-2023: Deadline for recommenders to submit the recommendations in the portal.

Benefits of Prime Minister Research Fellowship- PMRF

• Financial rewards are available to the applicant so that they can continue their research opportunities without any problem.
• Research applicants will be able to continue their Fellowship programs without any problem of unemployment.
• The financial awards will be directly transferred to the bank account of the beneficiaries and it will help them to combat poverty.
• There will be a better research environment for all of the beneficiaries that they can use to create good research programs.
• This will help India to become a better country and to create a safe space even for the researchers who are coming from across the world. 

Reward Details 

• The financial awards are:
  • Year 1: Rs. 70,000
  • Year 2: Rs. 70,000
  • Year 3: Rs. 75,000
  • Year 4: Rs. 80,000
  • Year 5: Rs. 80,000
• Each Fellow would be eligible for a research grant of Rs. 2 Lakhs per year (total of Rs 10 Lakhs for five years).
• The tenure of the fellowship will be till the end of the 4th year of Ph.D. for students from integrated courses and till the end of the 5th year of Ph.D. for B.Tech. (or equivalent) students. 
• For students selected through the lateral entry channel, the PMRF scholarship and obligations will continue only for the remainder of the student’s stay in the doctoral program. No retrospective payment will be made.

Features Of Prime Minister Research Fellowship

This scholarship scheme will have the following features:-

• Admission under the PMRF will be made in 19 broad disciplines.
• For each broad discipline, one IIT or IISc will coordinate the admission process and will be referred to as the Nodal Institute for that broad discipline.
• 19 Broad Discipline covered in the fellowship program are-
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Agriculture and Food Engineering
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Design
  • Interdisciplinary Programs in Science and Engineering
  • Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mining, Mineral, Coal and Energy Sector
  • Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture
  • Textile Engineering
  • Physics

PMRF List Of Host Institutions

The following host institutions will host the candidates for the Ph.D. program:-

• IISc Bangalore
• All IITs
• All IISERs
• National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirappalli
• Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
• Banaras Hindu University (BHU)
• University of Hyderabad
• Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)
• Jamia Millia Islamia
• The University of Delhi (DU)

Eligibility Criteria 

There are two channels that the fellowship is provided through and you can check out the eligibility criteria of both channels from the pointers given below:

Also Check: UGC Post-Doctoral Fellowship to Women Candidates 

DIRECT ENTRY CHANNEL

• The applicant should have satisfied one of the following criteria in the preceding three years from the date of submission of the application :
  • (a) completed or be pursuing the final year of four (or five) year undergraduate or five-year integrated M.Tech. or 2-year M.Sc. or five-year undergraduate postgraduate dual degree programs in Science and Technology streams from IISc/IITs/NITs/IISERSs/IIEST and centrally funded IIITs. These candidates should have secured a CGPA/CPI of at least 8.0 (on a 10-point scale). For applicants in the five-year integrated or dual degree programs, if separate CGPAs/CPIs are awarded for UG and PG parts of the program, the CGPA/CPI of the UG part (first four years) will be considered. OR
  • (b) completed or pursued the final year of four (or five) years of undergraduate or five-year integrated M.Tech. or five-year integrated M.Sc. or 2-year M.Sc. Or five-year undergraduate-postgraduate dual degree programs in Science and Technology streams from any other Institute/University recognized in India, not covered in 1(a) above. These candidates should have secured a minimum CGPA of 8 or equivalent apart from a minimum score of 650 in the respective GATE subject, a UGC/CSIR JRF rank of 100 or less, or those with NBHM fellowship. OR
  • (c) qualified GATE and be pursuing or have completed M.Tech./MS by research at one of the PMRF Granting Institutions having a minimum CGPA or CPI of 8.0 (on a 10-point scale) with a minimum of four courses at the time of application.
• Apply for Ph.D. programme in one of the PMRF granting institutes and get selected for the programme.
• The PMRF granting institute, which has admitted the student to the Ph.D. programme makes a strong recommendation and uploads the relevant information at the PMRF web portal. Student can only get admission in those institutes where he/she has been selected and wishes to seek admission (i.e., selection in one institute and availing PMRF from another institute that does not support the student for PMRF will not be allowed).
• The metrics on which the candidates will be judged will include (but are not restricted to): research exposure, publications, performance in international competitions (like the Math. Olympiad, and ACM ICPC Programming Contest), grades, and recommendation letters.
• Within 12-18 months of admission into the PhD programme, the progress of the candidate will be reviewed by the PMRF panel, and continuation of PMRF will be subject to the candidate’s satisfactory performance. A strong research proposal is mandatory, and a clear assessment from the host institution in support of the continuation of PMRF status. Due weightage would be given to publication in reputed journals/conferences.

LATERAL ENTRY CHANNEL

• The candidate should be pursuing a Ph.D. in one of the PMRF granting institutions. Further, he/she should have completed at most 12 months in the PhD programme if he/she joined the programme with a Master’s degree; and should have completed at most 24 months in the PhD programme if he/she entered the PhD programme with a Bachelor’s degree. The relevant period of 12 months or 24 months will be counted from the date of admission in the PhD programme till the date of application for lateral entry. A candidate can be considered at most twice through the lateral entry channel PMRF. In case of Integrated M.Tech/MSc and PhD programmes, the candidate will be eligible to apply within 12 months of satisfying the Master’s degree requirement.
• The candidate should have completed at least four courses in the PhD programme, each of which should be a full-semester course, and obtained an aggregate CGPA of 8.5 (out of 10) or higher. Only full subject courses are considered; General courses such as Seminar, Communication Skills, Research Methodology, etc. are not considered as full subject courses.
• The PMRF Granting Institute, in which the student is enrolled, makes a strong recommendation for the candidate and uploads the relevant information on the PMRF web portal. This includes a research proposal and soft copies of publications (which could include those under submission).
• Candidate continues work only in the host institute and transfer to another PMRF-eligible institute is not allowed. Further, once enrolled in a PhD programme through lateral entry, the candidate cannot be considered for direct entry channel in a subsequent year.
• The metrics on which the candidates will be judged include (but not restricted to) a strong research proposal, publications record, and grades. Due weightage should be given to publication in reputed journals/conferences.

Documents Required

The applicant must have the following documents to apply for the fellowship:

• Passport size photograph
• Scanned copy of mark sheets/grade sheets/transcripts
• Scanned copy of GATE qualifying certificate
• Abstract copy (max 1,000 words in a PDF file)
• CV limited to two A4 pages and submitted only in pdf format. The CV should emphasize only academic achievements and skills, e.g. ranks, merit certificates, internships, publications, research-related software skills, etc.

PMRF Selection Process

The selection procedure for PMRF Scheme is as follows:

• Fellows will be selected on the basis of a decision by the national convention.
• PMRF Granting institutes will send the nominations of eligible candidates to the National Coordinating Institute through the PMRF portal.
• Scholars will then make a detailed application through the PMRF Portal, under one of the Broad Areas. 
• The submitted applications are reviewed in detail by a National Panel for each broad area. The panel considers several aspects, arrives at a collective decision, and makes the recommendation to NCC with a rank list.
• Final Selections are done by the National Coordination Committee (NCC) based on the ranks and the number of seats allocated for each PMRF granting institute.
• At the time of joining, each Fellow shall be given deliverables to be achieved each year. This will be decided by the assigned guide and the department that the fellow is joining.
• The deliverables are to be designed keeping in view the topic selected by the fellow.
• There shall be an annual review of PMRF fellows. 
• The candidates would continue to avail of the fellowship in the next year only if their performance is found satisfactory by the review committee.

Terms and Conditions

The applicant must follow the following terms and conditions to apply for the scholarship:-

• Each fellow will be given deliverables to be achieved each year at the time of joining. The deliverables will be decided by the assigned guide and the department which the fellow is joining.
• To continue receiving the fellowship, the fellows are required to undergo an annual review. If their performance is found satisfactory by the review committee, the fellowship will continue.
• The process of review is rigorous and thus can be done in the form of a national convention (for each discipline).
• Each fellow is expected to teach once a week in a nearby Polytechnic/ ITI/ Engineering College as per the modalities approved by the Government.
• In case, the fellows fail to achieve the deliverables, the fellowship could be brought down to institutional level fellowship or even discontinued.

Application Fees

The applicant will have to pay the following application fees in this scholarship scheme:-

• Rupees 10000 through State Bank of India collection page

Also Check: Post-Doctoral Fellowship to SC/ST Candidates

Prime Minister Research Fellowship Application Procedure 2024

To apply for the scholarship you will have to follow the simple procedure given below:-

• First of all, the PMRF Granting institutes will send the nominations of eligible candidates to the National Coordinating Institute through the PMRF portal.
• If the applicants are getting the nomination then only they will be allowed to make a detailed application through the official portal by selecting their department.
• You can visit the Prime Minister Research website of the fellowship program by clicking on the link given here

• You will have to log in with your credentials as per the information presented through your Institute.
• You have to now make the application.
• Enter all of the details and upload all of the documents.
• You can now submit the application form for the fellowship program accordingly

Key Points

• You must check the eligibility before applying for the fellowship.
• Do not wait for the last date to apply for the fellowship.
• You must have a valid native mobile number.
• You must have a valid and active email ID.
• Keep all the documents ready before applying for the fellowship.
• Avoid using mobile phones for the Online submission of the application forms.
• Prefer using laptop or desktop for the Online submission of the application form.
• Check the application form carefully before final submission.

Contact Details 

• pmrfsupport@smail.iitm.ac.in
• ‍nccconvener@smail.iitm.ac.in
• 044-22578079

Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) 2024 FAQs