Long Term Fellowship under the Human Resource Development Programme for Health Research

What is the Long Term Fellowship under the HRD Programme for Health Research?

The Long Term Fellowship under the Human Resource Development (HRD) Programme for Health Research is an international training fellowship for Indian biomedical scientists. It is run by the Department of Health Research (DHR) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) administering the applications. According to the DHR-ICMR call for applications, the fellowship's purpose is to create a pool of talented health research personnel by giving them advanced training and exposure to the latest knowledge through interaction with international scientists in emerging areas of clinical medicine and health sciences.

The Long Term Fellowship sits within DHR's broader HRD scheme for health research, which also includes a Short Term Fellowship for shorter overseas visits and other capacity-building support. The distinguishing feature of the long term version is the longer overseas placement: six to twelve months: at a reputed foreign laboratory or institution, so the fellow can complete a substantial piece of training or collaborative work.

This is a training and placement fellowship, not a personal welfare benefit or a general student scholarship. The support is tied to a specific overseas host and training plan.

How long is the fellowship and what does it cover?

According to the DHR-ICMR call, the Long Term Fellowship supports overseas training of six to twelve months. The financial support — living/maintenance allowance in the host country, international travel and a contingency component; is fixed in each year's call for applications, and is meant to cover the cost of the training placement abroad rather than to provide a cash benefit at home. Because these amounts and the exact duration bands are revised from cycle to cycle, an applicant should rely on the current call published by ICMR for the precise figures.

Who is eligible for the Long Term Fellowship for Health Research?

You can apply if:

• You are an Indian citizen.
• You are a working biomedical or health scientist / faculty holding a regular position in a recognised Indian medical, research or academic institution.
• You are below the age limit specified in the call (generally under 45 years as on the last date of application).
• You have a confirmed acceptance or invitation from a suitable overseas host institution or supervisor.
• Your Indian institution endorses and sponsors your application.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not an Indian citizen, or you exceed the age limit set in the call.
• You do not have an overseas host acceptance, which is central to the fellowship.
• You are a general student looking for a degree scholarship. This is a training fellowship for scientists already in the health research system, not a student stipend.
• You cannot obtain your employer's no-objection and endorsement.

Because the exact qualification, experience and age conditions are set fresh in each annual call, confirm them against the current DHR-ICMR advertisement before applying.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Long Term Fellowship

1. Watch for the annual call for Short Term and Long Term Fellowships abroad on icmr.gov.in and dhr.gov.in; applications are accepted only while the call is open.
2. Secure an acceptance letter from a suitable overseas host institution or supervisor in your area of health research.
3. Complete the prescribed application online, attaching your qualifications, research record and the host acceptance.
4. Obtain your institution's endorsement and no-objection certificate, since you must return to your Indian position after the fellowship.
5. Submit the application before the deadline through the DHR-ICMR portal for evaluation and selection.

Where to get help

The programme is run by the Department of Health Research under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with ICMR handling applications. Details, the current call and the prescribed formats are published on dhr.gov.in and icmr.gov.in. As the exact financial support, duration bands and eligibility conditions are set in each annual call, always confirm them from the current official advertisement rather than from earlier cycles.

How to check your application status

The Long Term Fellowship does not run on a year-round applicant dashboard the way a welfare scheme portal does. It is evaluated once per annual call, so status tracking works differently:

1. Check your submission acknowledgement first. When you submit online during the DHR-ICMR call window, the portal or the linked email should generate an acknowledgement or reference number. Keep this safely; it is the only proof that your application was actually received before the deadline.
2. Watch dhr.gov.in and icmr.gov.in for the results announcement. Because selection happens as a batch exercise after the call closes (scrutiny of applications, screening for eligibility, and often a review or interaction with a selection committee), DHR and ICMR publish outcomes as a list or office memorandum on these two websites rather than through individual status logins.
3. Look for a shortlist or interaction call before the final result. Many ICMR fellowship cycles issue an intermediate shortlist (for document verification or a committee interaction) before the final award list. If you do not see your name on an intermediate list, that does not always mean rejection; it can mean a later stage is still pending, so check the final list before assuming an outcome.
4. If nothing is published within a reasonable time of the stated evaluation period, write to DHR or ICMR through the contact details on dhr.gov.in or icmr.gov.in, quoting your acknowledgement or reference number and the specific call (year) you applied under. Since there is no dedicated helpline number published for this fellowship, email or the contact form on these two official sites is the reliable channel.
5. Once selected, the offer or award communication itself will carry the next steps (such as finalising the host institution's dates and completing pre-departure formalities); there is no separate "status" step after that beyond following the instructions in that communication.

Because this fellowship is awarded through a fresh call each year rather than continuous processing, patience between the deadline and the announced result date is normal; repeatedly checking a portal login will not surface an interim status because none exists for this scheme.

Common reasons for rejection

• No confirmed overseas host acceptance, or a weak/informal one. The fellowship is built around a specific placement abroad, so an application without a firm acceptance letter from the foreign institution or supervisor, or with only an in-principle or verbal indication of interest, is a frequent rejection ground. Fix: obtain a clear, signed acceptance or invitation letter naming the host institution, the supervisor, and the proposed duration before you apply, not after.
• Age limit exceeded on the cut-off date. Because the age ceiling (generally around 45 years) is calculated as on the last date of application for that specific call, scientists close to the limit are sometimes rejected for applying a cycle too late. Fix: check your age against the cut-off date stated in the current year's call, not the previous year's, since cut-off dates shift annually.
• Missing or incomplete institutional endorsement. Since this is a fellowship for scientists already holding a regular Indian post, an application without a proper no-objection certificate and sponsorship from the applicant's employing institution is treated as incomplete. Fix: get the endorsement signed and attached before submission; a promise to "send it later" is not accepted once the call closes.
• Applying as a student rather than a working scientist. Students seeking a personal study scholarship sometimes apply to this fellowship by mistake, since it sounds like a general research grant. It is meant for scientists already employed in an Indian research or academic institution, and student applications are screened out at eligibility stage. Fix: check the beneficiary category in the current call before applying; a degree-seeking student should look for a separate scholarship scheme instead.
• Incomplete or late submission against the stated deadline. Because the call window is open only briefly each year (for example, a single closing date and time such as 5:00 p.m.), applications submitted after the deadline or missing a required attachment at submission time are rejected on technical grounds without reaching the selection committee. Fix: assemble every document (host acceptance, qualification proof, endorsement) well before the closing date rather than at the last hour, since the online portal typically will not accept a late or partial submission.