Dr. D.S. Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members

What is the Dr. D.S. Kothari Research Grant?

The Dr. D.S. Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members is a research grant of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. According to the UGC Fellowship and Research Grant portal, the scheme gives newly appointed permanent faculty the means to begin independent research early in their careers, before they build up institutional research funding of their own.

The grant provides up to Rs 10,00,000 over a two-year tenure. The UGC runs around 132 slots under the scheme. It is an institutional research grant disbursed through the faculty member's university or college: not a personal scholarship or salary top-up, and the funds must be spent on the approved research work.

Main features

• Up to Rs 10 lakh per grantee over two years.
• Targeted at newly recruited, permanent Assistant Professors with a Ph.D.
• Around 132 slots under the scheme.
• Grant covers research costs but not international travel.

Who is eligible for the Dr. D.S. Kothari Research Grant?

A faculty member can apply if:

• They are newly appointed as Assistant Professor against a permanent post in an eligible institution.
• They hold a Ph.D. degree.
• They have a minimum of five research papers published in journals of international repute.
• They apply within two years of the date of joining the post.

Eligible institutions are universities and their constituent/affiliated colleges under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 with valid NAAC accreditation; deemed-to-be universities under Section 3 of the Act with NAAC accreditation; and institutions fully funded by central or state governments and supported to award degrees.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a student, research scholar, guest, contractual or ad-hoc teacher. The grant is only for regular, permanent Assistant Professors.
• You have completed more than two years in the post at the time of applying.
• Your institution does not meet the Section 2(f)/Section 3 and NAAC conditions.

This is an important point for readers: individuals cannot obtain a personal cash benefit here. The grant funds a specific research project and is administered through the institution.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Dr. D.S. Kothari Research Grant

Applications are made online when the UGC opens the scheme window:

1. Visit the UGC Fellowship and Research Grant portal at frg.ugc.ac.in and read the current scheme guidelines and deadline.
2. Register/log in and select the Dr. D.S. Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members.
3. Fill the application with your Ph.D. details, list of at least five international publications and your research proposal.
4. Attach your appointment letter, institutional NAAC accreditation proof and the required supporting documents.
5. Forward the application through the head of your institution (registrar or principal) and submit within the deadline.

Selection is made by UGC expert committees against the available slots, so meeting the minimum criteria does not by itself guarantee a grant.

How the grant may be used

The Rs 10 lakh may be spent on minor equipment, consumables, contingencies, fieldwork and domestic travel connected to the approved research. The scheme does not fund international travel. Utilisation must follow UGC financial norms, and grantees are expected to account for the funds and report research outcomes over the two-year tenure.

Help and where to check status

The UGC does not publish a dedicated telephone helpline for this grant. Applicants should use the contact details and notices on the Fellowship and Research Grant portal (frg.ugc.ac.in) and route queries through their institution's UGC nodal or research cell. Because the grant is institutional, the university's finance and research office is the correct channel for disbursal and utilisation questions.

Common reasons for rejection

Because this grant is screened by UGC expert committees against a fixed number of slots (around 132), meeting the bare minimum criteria does not guarantee selection. Applications are commonly turned down or dropped from consideration for these reasons.

• Applying after the two-year window from joining. The rule is strict: the application must be made within two years of the date of joining the permanent Assistant Professor post. Applicants who apply even a few months late are treated as ineligible, not merely deprioritised. Fix: calculate the two-year deadline from the joining letter date the day you join, and submit well before it lapses rather than waiting for a convenient application cycle.

• Fewer than five papers in journals of "international repute." Some applicants count national journals, conference proceedings, or papers in predatory or non-indexed journals toward the five-paper minimum. Committees screen publication lists against journal reputation and indexing, and weak or borderline journals get discounted, pushing the real count below five. Fix: list only papers from journals with recognised international standing, and be ready to justify each one's indexing status if asked.

• Appointment is not against a permanent post. Ad-hoc, guest, contractual, visiting, or temporary faculty appointments do not qualify even if the person otherwise meets every other criterion. Applications from such appointments are rejected outright. Fix: apply only after your appointment letter explicitly confirms a regular, permanent post; if your appointment is being regularised, wait until that is finalised before applying.

• Institution does not meet the Section 2(f)/Section 3 and NAAC conditions. A qualified applicant can still be rejected if their university or college is not covered under Section 2(f) or Section 3 of the UGC Act, or lacks valid NAAC accreditation at the time of application. This is checked at the institutional level, not the individual's, so an applicant may be unaware their institution has lapsed accreditation. Fix: confirm current NAAC accreditation status and Section 2(f)/3 coverage with your institution's UGC nodal cell before applying, since accreditation can expire and needs periodic renewal.

• Application not forwarded through the head of the institution. The grant requires institutional endorsement and forwarding through the registrar or principal. A direct application without this routing, or one missing the institutional certification page, is treated as incomplete. Fix: build in time for the internal sign-off process at your university or college well before the portal deadline, since this step is often the slowest part of the process.

• Weak or vague research proposal. Since this is a research grant and not an automatic entitlement, a proposal that is generic, too broad, lacks a clear budget breakdown against permitted heads (equipment, consumables, contingencies, fieldwork, domestic travel), or does not connect to the applicant's publication record is a common reason for non-selection even among eligible candidates. Fix: write a focused proposal with a specific research question, method, and a budget mapped to the grant's approved expense categories, and avoid including international travel costs since the scheme explicitly excludes them.

• Incomplete or mismatched supporting documents. Missing the Ph.D. degree certificate, a publication list that does not match the claimed count, or an appointment letter that does not clearly show the joining date and post status can stall or disqualify an otherwise eligible application. Fix: cross-check every document against the specific claim it is meant to support (Ph.D. status, five publications, permanent post, joining date) before submission.

• Applying when no slots or application window is open. The scheme is not a continuously running, on-demand grant; it opens per available slots and announced cycles on the UGC Fellowship and Research Grant portal. Applications submitted outside an active window are not processed. Fix: track frg.ugc.ac.in directly for the scheme's call for applications rather than assuming it is open year-round.