Students of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have been selected for the Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme that has been announced recently. A total of 14 students have been selected for the scheme through the channel of Lateral Entry.

The PhD students selected for the PMRF fellowship this year are pursuing research in interdisciplinary and forefront areas at various departments and centres such as Departments of Design, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, and the Centres for Nanotechnology, Rural Technology, Energy and Environment.

Speaking about the PMRF scheme, Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “This initiative by the Government of India will attract the best talent from the country for pursuing high-end research at IIT Guwahati and realise the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of high-end multidisciplinary technology development and self-sustenance (Atmanirbhar) through innovation. IIT Guwahati and its faculty members are ready to help the selected PMRF recipients realise their full potential and guide them, so that these awardees can achieve their long-term career goals and contribute to the growth of the country”.

According to the PMRF scheme, each fellow will be eligible to get a monthly fellowship of Rs. 70,000 for the first two years, Rs. 75,000 for the 3rd year, and Rs. 80,000 in the 4th and 5th year. In addition to this, each fellow would be eligible for a research grant of Rs. 2 lakh per year (a total of Rs 10 lakh for five years).

After the selection, every fellow will be given deliverables to be achieved each year. The deliverables will be decided by the assigned guide. The deliverables will be designed while keeping in view the research topic selected by the fellows and are also likely to be reviewed annually for the progress of their research objectives.

The Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) scheme was announced in the 2018-2019 Budget and has been designed for improving the quality of research along with providing unparalleled research opportunities in various higher educational institutions in the country. The scheme is administered by the Ministry of Education and aims to propel and promote the growth of engineers and scientists through constant annual reviews and weightage recorded in accordance with the publication in reputed journals and conferences.

The Government of India has amended the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme by allowing lateral entry and also modifying the minimum score required to be eligible for the scholarship. As per the revised scheme, the minimum score in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), has been reduced from 750 to 650. In addition to the direct entry, provision for lateral entry has also been made permitting ongoing PhD students who have already been enrolled for 12 or 24 months to avail this fellowship. This has allowed more and more students to benefit from this prestigious fellowship.