Department of Science and Technology of India (DST) designed and launched a programme called INSPIRE. The idea behind this programme is to promote science education in the country and attract talented youth towards these courses. The INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship is an initiative in this programme. The details of this initiative are presented in this article.
Introduction
"Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)" [www.online-inspire.gov.in] Programme is a science education promotion programme in India designed and launched by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India in 2008. The basic idea of this scheme is to make the Indian youth get attracted towards the study of science. The students and scholars who are in the age group of 15–37 years are being provided with facilities to showcase their talent in the field of science. There are multiple schemes in this initiative and aims to promote education and research in the field of science. The INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship Scheme is one of the initiatives under this programme.
Eligible young Ph.D. holders can apply for this fellowship. This is a post-doctoral fellowship. This fellowship will provide an opportunity for young scientists to conduct independent research. This opportunity may give scope for them to become a leader in their field in the long run. The notification for applying for these fellowships has been released by DST and the last date for application is 31st August 2023.
Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for applying for this programme are as follows.
Indian citizens and Indian-origin candidates with PIO status having Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, pharmacy, medicine or agriculture-related subjects from any recognized university in the world can apply for this fellowship.
Candidates who got a minimum of 60% in all the examinations starting from the 12th class should only apply for this fellowship. Candidates who are within the top 1% in Class 12 examination/ IIT-JEE rank holders / 1st rank holders either in graduation or post-graduation level university examinations are preferred.
Candidates who submitted their Ph.D. theses and are awaiting the award of their degree are eligible. Their fellowship will be confirmed only after the award of a PhD.
The maximum age limit as on 1st Jan 2023 is 32 years. For SC/ST/Women candidates, the upper age limit is 37 years. For physically handicapped persons with a minimum of 40 percent of a specified disability, the upper age limit is 42 years.
The candidate should have published articles in highly reputed journals.
Any person employed somewhere within India can also apply for these fellowships. They have to resign from those jobs if they are selected. Lien or deputation or any type of leave is not acceptable.
If any candidate who got selected for the fellowship joins any job after applying will be eligible to receive a research grant only but not the fellowship amount.
Application Process
The details of the procedure for application are as given below.
Candidates who are interested to apply have to visit the official website and apply online. website: www.online-inspire.gov.in
Only online applications are accepted and there is no other mode is acceptable.
All the columns are to be filled following the instructions given there. The site will guide the candidate through the process of filling out the application
Once the application is filled in the same should be submitted and a copy of the application can be taken and kept for reference purposes.
Remuneration and Duration
The details of financial benefits and duration of the programme are as mentioned below.
The duration of the fellowship is a maximum of 5 years and no extension is allowed.
Candidates who are getting this fellowship should not accept any other fellowship during their tenure.
Selected candidates will be offered Rs.1,25.000/- per month as a fellowship. This is all-inclusive and taxable.
In addition to the above the candidates will be given a grant of Rs.7.00.000/- per year for contingency expenditure. Any unspent amount in a year can be accumulated and can be used in the remaining years. This will be paid against actual expenditure only.
Important terms and conditions
The following are some of the important terms and conditions a candidate should take note of.
A candidate applying for this fellowship should identify an institution or laboratory for conducting the research and their consent should be obtained. Candidates who could not identify the same before applying should identify afterward and inform the same to the concerned immediately after final selection.
Once the fellowship is sanctioned the candidate should start his work and start availing the fellowship within 3 months after sanction.
If the host institution is from the private sector, the candidate will receive only a research grant and a fellowship should be given by the host institute.
If any candidate goes for a permanent post while working in this scheme he should inform the same Inspire and they will be given only a research grant for conducting research in the remaining period but no fellowship will be given.
The candidates who are doing research in this scheme can apply for any other type of grant required for their research from other funding agencies if required.
Selection process
The selection process will have three stages:
The research proposal will be evaluated by discipline-based Expert Committees (INSA) nominated by DST.
Then an apex committee will go through the proposal and recommendations of INSA by the Apex Level Committee (INSA)
Then INSPIRE Faculty Award Council formed of DST will make its final recommendation
DST will make the final selection based on the recommendations of the above three committees.
Contact
Address: The Department of Science & Technology, Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road,, New Delhi-110 016. Telephone: +91 11 26590215 Email: ws-dst@gov.in/ Website: https://dst.gov.in/ INSPIRE website: www.online-inspire.gov.in
