Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship

Funded by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship 2021 is offered to candidates belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Offered by the UGC, Candidates belonging to SC, ST communities who wish to pursue regular and full-time M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Engineering & Technology can avail of this scholarship. 

Scholarship Scheme Name	Rajiv Gandhi National FellowshipScholarship Scheme
Provided by	UGC (University Grants Commission)
Conducting Body	Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for Scheduled Caste &Ministry of Tribal Affairs for Scheduled Tribe
Purpose	Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe candidates applying for regular and full-time M.Phil. and PhD degrees in Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering & Technology
Total number of Scholarships	2000 for SC and 667 for ST candidates
Last Date for Submission of RGNF Application	Last Week of July 2021
Official website	https://www.ugc.ac.in/  OR https://scholarships.gov.in/
Contact Details	University Grants Commission (UGC) Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg ITO Metro Gate Number 3 New Delhi, Delhi 110002 Phone: 0120-6895200

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Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Eligibility

To be offered the GC RGNF, students have to fulfill certain criteria, namely:

• The candidates should have passed their PG examination in their relevant subject and must pursue full-time research without JRF of UGC-NET or UGC-CSIR NET.
• Candidates applying for this scholarship have to belong to the SC/ST category.
• Candidates must get registered for the M.Phil./Ph.D not later than a period of 2 years from the receipt of the award letter.
• Candidates register as regular students in University/Institute/Colleges recognized by UGC under Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act/ICAR.
• Candidate belongs to the transgender category are also eligible.

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Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Important Dates 

Here are the tentative dates of the Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship:

Events	Tentative dates
Online submission of application form start date	1st week of July 2021
Last date to Apply	Last week of July 2021
Beginning of documents verification	3rd week of July 2021
Releasing of merit list	August 2021
Allocation of financial support	September 2021

Nature of the Scheme

Listed below are some of the important details of the scheme:

• Annually, there are about 2000 slots for SC candidates and over 667 vacant slots for ST candidates for all the subjects.
• Under the RGNF scheme, the tenure of this fellowship is 2 years. By the end of this fellowship, the fellow work will be reviewed by a Committee of three members -Head of the Department, Supervisor and one outside subject expert to be constituted by the concerned Department of the /University/Institution/College.
• The tenure may be extended for a period of three years if the research work is seen to be satisfactory. 
• Only scholarships/fellowships done under UGC will be taken into consideration. If the work is found to be unsatisfactory or if the candidate fails, then the scholarship may be withdrawn.
• If within the first year of the scholarship, the work is not found to be satisfactory, then an additional year will be given for improvement. 
• During the Mphil fellowship, the candidates will be given a scholarship for a period upto 2 years or uptill the date of dissertation.
• The PhD fellows will be paid the amount for a period of 5 years or till the date of viva. 

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Scholarship Amount

Name of the fellowship	Amount of scholarship	Subjects
Fellowship in Science, Humanities and Social Science	Rs. 16,000/- per month for the initial two years Rs. 18,000/- per month for remaining tenure	JRF
Contingency A	Rs. 10,000/- p.a. for the initial two years Rs. 20,500/- p.a. for remaining tenure.	Humanities &Social Sciences
Contingency B	Rs. 12,000/- p.a. for the initial two years Rs. 25,000/- p.a. for remaining tenure	Science, Engg. &Technology
Departmental Assistance	Rs. 3000/-p.a. per student to the host institution for providing infrastructure	All Subjects
Escorts/Reader assistance	Rs. 2000/- per month in cases of physically handicapped & blind candidates	All Subjects
HRA	As per rules of the University/ Institutions	All Subjects

Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Selection Process

• Selections for the RGNF are determined on the basis of merit and in accordance with the Commission’s processes. The Commission examines and chooses the applications that are submitted. The Commission’s decision determines the final selection. The Commission has the authority to withdraw/cancel the award for any reason.
• Following these procedures, the supervisor/head of the department will sign the candidate’s Joining Report. It will then be forwarded to the UGC by the Registrar/Director/Principal. 
• On receipt of the Joining Report and other relevant papers, the first-year admissible grant is released. Otherwise, the relevant university will be notified and the grant will be released.
• This award is made possible by monies authorized by the Commission for this purpose. Following that, the fellows may obtain the funds from the institutions/banks after receiving the UGC approval/award letter. 
• Other expenditures incurred as a result of the grants paid by the Commission are in accordance with the regulations. The fellowship payments will be made straight into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

Document Checklist

Candidates must provide a scanned copy of all required papers with their application. The following is a list of required documents for applying for the Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship.

• Applicant’s caste certificate issued by the competent authority (in PDF, JPG, GIF format)
• Specific handicapped certificate, if required
• Postgraduation mark sheet in PDF/JPG/GIF format
• Certificate from the Head of the Department/Institution stating that the necessary facilities will be provided by the College/University/Institution in case the candidates get selected for this fellowship

How to Apply 

Following are the step-by-step instruction to apply for the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship scholarship scheme:

• Step 1: Candidates have to visit the official website to apply for the scholarship. https://www.ugc.ac.in/rgnf/ 
• Step 2: At the top of the home page you will find an apply now link. Click on it.
• Step 3: Candidates have to fill in personal entails such as domicile, caste category, name, nationality, parent’s/guardian’s name, contact details, etc. after that click on save and continue.
• Step 4: After that, the candidates have to mention their educational details after which they have to proceed to the scholarship details and employment details.
• Step 5: After entering the details candidates can review their documents and click to continue for declaration.
• Step 6: Candidates have to carefully read the declaration and then click on agree. Candidates must take a print-out and save it for further use.

Application Form

Candidates will find the online application form on the UGC Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scholarship Scheme portal. registration has to be done online. The applications for this scholarship are invited only once a year. Given below are some of the points applicants must remember whilst fill the form.

• Candidates must get themselves registered in the online portal.
• Candidates must fill the form before/on the last date and no further extension will be given.
• Candidates have to provide their official mobile number and email ID to get the details and updates regarding the test.
• The name in the form should be the same as mentioned in the class 10 certificate.

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FAQs

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