Mizoram Research Fellowship

What is the Mizoram Research Fellowship?

Mizoram Research Fellowship is a state-funded research award administered by the Mizoram Scholarship Board, Government of Mizoram, from its office at Dawrpui Vengthar, Aizawl. According to the Board's published scheme booklet, the objective is "to provide financial assistance to Research workers and teachers preferably below the age of 45 years who have established their reputation for research or who in any field and who have obtained a doctorate degree, have published research work to their credit and have already shown evidence of independent research work."

The fellowship is commonly referred to in Board notices by its initials, MRF, and the beneficiary lists are published under that name.

Read that objective carefully, because it is unusual. Most scholarships pay students to study. The Mizoram Research Fellowship is aimed at people who have already finished a doctorate and already have publications: researchers and teachers who are continuing independent work. It is closer to a research grant than to a student scholarship, and the awardee lists bear that out.

It is also genuinely small. The Board's dashboard records 13 beneficiaries and Rs 1.183 lakh for the Mizoram Research Fellowship in 2025-26. Anyone considering the fellowship should approach it as a competitive award with a very narrow gate, not as an entitlement.

Who is eligible for the Mizoram Research Fellowship?

You can apply if:

• You are a research worker or teacher, preferably below 45 years of age.
• You are a bona fide permanent resident of Mizoram, or the child or ward of one. The regulations state that "Only the children or works of bonafide permanent residents of Mizoram shall be eligible for the award of fellowship which application will be made in the form as in the Annexure to these Regulations."
• You have obtained a doctorate degree.
• You have published research work to your credit and can show evidence of independent research work.
• You secured at least 50 per cent on average in the last University examination, unless the awarding authority relaxes this.
• Your University or institution is recognised or established by law.

You cannot apply, or you are not eligible, if:

• You are not a bona fide permanent resident of Mizoram or the child or ward of one.
• You are pursuing higher studies or research at a University or institution which is not recognised or established by law. The regulations exclude such applicants outright.
• You have been found guilty of misconduct or breach of discipline, or of participating in strikes, demonstrations, picketing and the like for unfair demands from any high level authority.
• You failed to secure at least 50 per cent on an average in the last University examination and the awarding authority has not relaxed the condition.
• You are already in receipt of any scholarship or stipend from any source, other than a merit scholarship.

The last exclusion is the one that catches most applicants. A research scholar already drawing a UGC fellowship, an institutional stipend or any similar regular support is outside the scheme. Only a merit scholarship is carved out.

What documents are needed?

How to apply for the Mizoram Research Fellowship

1. Watch the Mizoram Scholarship Board notice board at msb.mizoram.gov.in. The fellowship is usually notified together with the Post Matric Merit Scholarship. For 2025-26, both were announced on 14 August 2025 with a closing date of 12 December 2025.
2. Download the correct application form. The Board publishes two separate PDFs, one Fresh and one Renewal. Using the wrong one is a needless way to lose an application, since a continuing fellow renews rather than reapplies.
3. Complete the form in the prescribed Annexure format, giving your research field, institution, supervisor where relevant, and the instalment you are claiming if you are renewing.
4. Assemble the supporting documents, doctorate certificate, publication evidence, last University marksheet, Permanent Residential Certificate, Aadhaar and bank passbook, and attach them.
5. Submit the filled form with the documents to the Mizoram Scholarship Board at Dawrpui Vengthar, Aizawl. The Board's booklet states the form "must be submitted to Mizoram Scholarship Board for verification and sanction."
6. Keep a dated copy of the whole submitted set, and follow up on the notice board where the Board publishes both the list of applicants and the final list of awardees.

There is no online application route for the Mizoram Research Fellowship. Central scholarship portals such as scholarships.gov.in do not carry it, because the fellowship is a state scheme.

How much does the fellowship pay, and how?

The Board's official awardee list for 2025-26 is the clearest available evidence on money. It records 13 awardees, each paid Rs 9,100, for a total of Rs 1,18,300.

What makes the list informative is the remarks column. Eleven fellows are shown drawing their first instalment, one the second instalment and one the fourth instalment. So the fellowship is paid in instalments and runs across years for a continuing fellow, which is also why the Board publishes a separate renewal application form.

Fellows in that list were working in Mizo, History, Life Sciences, Agricultural Engineering, English, Geography, Zoology, Education and Medical Radiology Technology, at Mizoram University, NERIST, Swami Vivekanand University, William Carey University and NIMS University. Mizoram University accounted for most of them, but the presence of institutions outside the state confirms that the fellowship follows the researcher rather than the campus.

Because the fellowship is a state scheme, payment is released through the state's IFMIS-DBT channel, with the Board's Drawing and Disbursing Officer named as the responsible official in its citizen's charter.

Key dates and the annual cycle

• 2025-26 closing date to 12 December 2025, announced on 14 August 2025
• Applicant list published. The Board publishes the list of applicants for the fellowship for the year on its notice board
• Awardee list published — the 2025-26 MRF beneficiary list was posted on 16 March 2026
• Payment window, December to March, per the Board's general service delivery standard, subject to the sanction being received

The window moves from year to year. There is no standing deadline, so the only reliable source is the current notice on msb.mizoram.gov.in.

Why applications fail

• No doctorate, or no publications. These are the two substantive tests, and an applicant who is still working towards the degree does not meet the scheme as written.
• Already drawing another stipend. Any scholarship or stipend other than a merit scholarship disqualifies the applicant.
• Institution not recognised or established by law. Check your institution's standing before applying, particularly for private universities.
• Wrong form used. Fresh and renewal forms are not interchangeable.
• Residential certificate out of date. The Board lists an up-to-date residential certificate among its stated expectations of applicants across all its schemes.
• Very limited funds. With 13 awards and about Rs 1.18 lakh disbursed in 2025-26, a strong application can still be unsuccessful simply because the fellowship is small. Reapplying in a later cycle is normal.

How to check your status and raise a grievance

1. Open the Notice Board on msb.mizoram.gov.in and look for the list of applicants for the Mizoram Research Fellowship for the relevant year, then for the MRF beneficiaries list.
2. If you are on the awardee list but the instalment has not been credited, contact the Board. Its citizen's charter sets a three-day standard for complaints about non-receipt of scholarship payment.
3. Lodge a grievance at https://msb.mizoram.gov.in, or contact the Under Secretary and State Nodal Officer on 9862363908 or at snomizoram@gmail.com. The published time limit for redress of grievances is five days.

Contacts

• Mizoram Scholarship Board, Dawrpui Vengthar, Aizawl, Mizoram
• Website; https://msb.mizoram.gov.in
• Phone to 9862363908
• Email; snomizoram@gmail.com

No fee is charged for the fellowship application beyond the Rs 20 per form printing charge the Board levies for a printed offline form.