The National Fellowship Scheme benefited 1070 OBC students in 2022–2023—the most in the previous five years. In the fiscal year 2022–2023, 1070 Other Backward Class (OBC) students benefited from the Center’s National Fellowship Scheme.
In the previous five years, this is the largest number of beneficiaries. The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Sushri Pratima Bhoumik, provided this information in a written response today.
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.
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 the following examinations, enabling them to pursue further coursework and research leading to an MPhil or PhD degree:
- The UGC Junior Research Fellowship (NET-JRF) for the Humanities and Social Sciences
- The UGC-Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (UGC-CSIR) is a component of the National Eligibility Test. Joint Test NET-JRF (for Sciences)
The current NF-OBC rates have been updated to match UGC fellowships, effective January 1, 2023.
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.
