Mukhyamantri Sushasan Fellowship Yojana (Chief Minister's Good Governance Fellowship)

What is the Mukhyamantri Sushasan Fellowship Yojana?

Mukhyamantri Sushasan Fellowship Yojana, also written as the Chief Minister's Good Governance Fellowship and known locally as the CM Sushasan Fellowship, is a Chhattisgarh government programme that sends young graduates from the state through a fully funded two-year MBA in Public Policy and Governance at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur, while placing them inside the state administration for hands-on work.

According to the Chhattisgarh Public Relations Department, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced the fellowship in November 2024. The department describes the aim as preparing "a capable and accountable administrative generation" by giving talented young people high-quality education in governance along with practical experience. The programme is run by the Good Governance and Convergence Department (Sushasan evam Abhisaran Vibhag) together with IIM Raipur.

Chhattisgarh's Budget 2025-26 carried a provision of Rs 10 crore for the CM Sushasan Fellowship, and the Finance Minister's budget speech described it as possibly the first attempt of its kind in the country.

Who is eligible for the Sushasan Fellowship, and who is not eligible?

You can apply if:

• You are a permanent resident (domicile) of Chhattisgarh.
• You are not more than 35 years old.
• You hold a bachelor's degree in any subject with at least 60 per cent marks, or 55 per cent (or equivalent CGPA) if you belong to a reserved category.
• You have a valid CAT scorecard. For the 2025 cycle, CAT scores from 2022, 2023 or 2024 were accepted.
• Your bank account is linked to Aadhaar and to your mobile number, since the stipend is paid electronically.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not domiciled in Chhattisgarh. The Public Relations Department states plainly that only Chhattisgarh-domiciled youth are selected.
• You are over 35 years of age on the cut-off date announced for the cycle.
• You have no valid CAT score for the accepted years.
• Your graduation percentage is below 60 per cent (or below 55 per cent for reserved categories).

Reserved-category candidates receive benefits in line with Chhattisgarh's reservation policy. In the 2026-28 batch, 12 of the 36 selected fellows are from Scheduled Tribes and 4 from Scheduled Castes.

What does the fellowship actually pay for?

The Government of Chhattisgarh bears the entire course fee of the two-year MBA programme, and each enrolled fellow receives a stipend of Rs 50,000 per month. IIM Raipur's own programme page for the MBA in Public Policy and Governance confirms both the full tuition sponsorship by the state government and the Rs 50,000 monthly stipend.

Two years of stipend at Rs 50,000 a month comes to Rs 12 lakh per fellow, on top of the course fee, which is why the selection process is competitive and why the number of seats is small.

How is the two-year fellowship structured?

For the MBA (Public Policy and Governance) 2026-28 batch, the Public Relations Department describes the structure as:

• 5 months of high-level academic training on the IIM Raipur campus.
• 19 months working across state government departments and districts on policy-making, programme implementation, administrative innovation and the practical side of good governance.

IIM Raipur describes the same design as blended learning: classroom study at the institute combined with real-world governance experience in state departments and district collectorates, and adds that fellows get regular interaction (Samvad) with the Chief Minister.

How to apply for the Mukhyamantri Sushasan Fellowship

1. Appear for CAT and keep the scorecard. Selection is built on a valid CAT score, so this step comes first and cannot be skipped.
2. Watch the IIM Raipur admissions page at iimraipur.ac.in/mba-ppg for the cycle announcement. In 2025, applications were invited from 23 April to 11 May.
3. Fill the online application on the IIM Raipur admission portal, entering your CAT registration details, graduation marks, category and Chhattisgarh domicile details.
4. Upload documents — domicile certificate, degree and marksheets, CAT scorecard, age proof and category certificate if claiming reservation.
5. Attend the shortlisting stage. IIM Raipur shortlists on the CAT score and conducts a group discussion and/or personal interview as part of its standardised, transparent selection process.
6. Accept the offer and complete enrolment at IIM Raipur. Seed your bank account with Aadhaar so the monthly stipend can be released.
7. Attend the orientation at IIM Raipur, after which the five-month academic block begins.

For admission-related questions, the Public Relations Department lists the telephone number 0771-2474612.

What work do Sushasan fellows do?

According to the Public Relations Department, selected fellows support the design, analysis and implementation of administrative policies. Specific responsibilities described in official releases include:

• Helping design and evaluate data-driven policies.
• Streamlining processes inside government departments to improve administrative efficiency.
• Improving the use of resources and strengthening e-governance.
• Analysing the ground-level impact of schemes and feeding that back so policies become better targeted.
• Making schemes and services more inclusive and accessible by understanding citizens' needs.

At the 2026-28 orientation, the Secretary of the Chief Minister's Secretariat and the Good Governance and Convergence Department, Rahul Bhagat, told fellows that good governance is not limited to making policies, effective implementation, timely delivery of services to citizens, and outcome-oriented administration matter just as much. Special Secretary Rajat Bansal and Joint Secretary Mayank Agrawal spoke to the batch on digital governance, administrative reform and data-based decision-making.

What happens after the fellowship?

The fellowship does not carry an automatic government job. IIM Raipur describes the outcome as expertise for public policy roles, governance consulting and leadership positions in both government and the private sector. The Public Relations Department frames the same point as giving young professionals an opportunity to work with government, NGOs, think tanks and the private sector on governance reform.

Anyone applying with the expectation of a guaranteed state government posting at the end of two years should read the offer letter carefully, because no such guarantee appears in the official material published so far.

How large is each batch, and who gets in?

Batch size is deliberately small. For the 2026-28 batch, the Public Relations Department records that 36 talented young people selected from 19 districts of Chhattisgarh will be awarded the two-year MBA (Public Policy and Governance) degree. Of those 36 fellows, 12 are from Scheduled Tribes and 4 from Scheduled Castes. A composition that reflects Chhattisgarh's reservation policy being applied to the selection.

The 2026-28 batch is the second batch; the department separately reported the launch of the second batch of the CM Sushasan Fellowship. The first cycle opened for applications in April 2025, roughly five months after the Chief Minister announced the initiative in November 2024.

The department describes the process as a competitive one, running on a valid CAT score and IIM Raipur's standardised and transparent selection procedure. With 36 seats against a statewide pool of graduates aged up to 35, an applicant should plan for a strong CAT percentile rather than counting on the domicile restriction alone to carry them through.

Common reasons applications fail

• No domicile certificate, or a certificate issued by another state.
• CAT score from a year outside the accepted window for that cycle.
• Graduation percentage below the cut-off, most often where a candidate assumes the reserved-category 55 per cent applies without holding a valid caste certificate.
• Crossing the 35-year age limit on the cut-off date.
• Missing the application window, which is short to 19 days in the 2025 cycle.
• Unseeded bank account, which does not block selection but delays the stipend.

Where to get help

• Admission enquiries: 0771-2474612, as published by the Chhattisgarh Public Relations Department.
• Programme details and application link: iimraipur.ac.in/mba-ppg.
• Scheme administration: Good Governance and Convergence Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, Mantralaya, Nava Raipur Atal Nagar.

No agent or coaching centre can secure a seat in this fellowship. Selection runs entirely through IIM Raipur's published admission process, and there is no fee payable to any intermediary for "getting your name added".