National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities

What is the National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities?

National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities is a research fellowship that supports scholars with disabilities to pursue advanced study leading to an MPhil or PhD degree. It is funded by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and is implemented by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which already administers several national fellowship schemes.

According to the UGC guidelines, the fellowship provides 200 slots every year and pays research scholars at the same rates as other UGC fellowships. The purpose is to remove the financial barrier that often stops students with disabilities from continuing into research careers, and to increase their representation among MPhil and PhD holders and, in turn, among university and college teachers.

Key features

• 200 fellowships awarded each year - 150 via UGC NET-JRF and 50 via UGC-CSIR NET-JRF.
• Junior Research Fellow stipend of Rs 37,000 per month for the first two years.
• Senior Research Fellow stipend of Rs 42,000 per month thereafter.
• Escort or reader allowance of Rs 2,000 per month for scholars who need it.
• Annual contingency grant and HRA as per the UGC norms.

Who is eligible for the National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities?

You can be considered if you:

• Have a benchmark disability of at least 40%, certified by a competent medical authority, in one of the categories recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
• Have qualified the UGC-NET or UGC-CSIR NET with Junior Research Fellowship eligibility - the fellowship is awarded to candidates who clear NET-JRF and then take up research.
• Are enrolled, or take admission, in a regular, full-time MPhil or PhD programme in a recognised university, deemed university or institution.

Within the 200 fellowships, reservation is applied - 15% for Scheduled Caste and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe candidates - alongside the disability requirement.

You cannot apply if you:

• Do not have a certified benchmark disability of at least 40%.
• Have not qualified NET with JRF eligibility through the relevant stream.
• Are pursuing the research on a part-time or distance basis rather than as a regular, full-time scholar.
• Are already drawing another central or state government fellowship for the same research - the fellowship cannot be combined with a second government award.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities

The fellowship is not a walk-in scholarship - it flows from qualifying the National Eligibility Test with Junior Research Fellowship. Follow these steps:

1. Qualify the UGC-NET or UGC-CSIR NET with JRF eligibility in your subject, in the stream reserved for candidates with disabilities.
2. Secure admission or registration to a regular, full-time MPhil or PhD programme in a recognised university or institution.
3. Complete the fellowship joining formalities through the UGC's fellowship process, submitting your disability certificate, NET-JRF award proof, degree documents and admission proof, verified by the university.
4. Get the university and supervisor to confirm your enrolment and progress; the fellowship is released and later renewed on the basis of satisfactory research progress.
5. Track your fellowship and yearly renewals through the UGC portal and your university's research section.

Because the exact online steps and the annual notification are issued by the UGC, confirm the current-year procedure on the UGC website before applying.

How much does the fellowship provide?

For the first two years, the scholar is a Junior Research Fellow drawing Rs 37,000 per month. On satisfactory assessment, the scholar becomes a Senior Research Fellow drawing Rs 42,000 per month for the remaining tenure, up to a total of five years. In addition, fellows receive an annual contingency grant to meet books, travel and research costs, House Rent Allowance where applicable, and an escort or reader allowance of Rs 2,000 per month for those whose disability requires such support.

These rates follow the common UGC fellowship guidelines and are revised from time to time; the amounts above reflect the rates confirmed in the UGC's revised guidelines. Check the UGC guidelines PDF for the current contingency figures for humanities, social sciences and science streams.

Help and where to ask

The fellowship is administered by the University Grants Commission. General UGC contact numbers are 011-23604446 and 011-23604200. Scheme funding and policy sit with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. For queries specific to your fellowship release and renewals, work through your university's research or scholarship section, which coordinates with the UGC.

How to check your application status

The National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities does not run on a single centralised online tracker the way a direct benefit transfer scheme does. Because the award flows through the NET-JRF result and then through your university, status checking happens in stages, and each stage has its own point of contact.

• NET-JRF result stage: Your JRF eligibility itself is published by the NTA (for UGC-NET) or CSIR-UGC NET as a scorecard or result list. Check your NET login or the relevant NTA/CSIR result portal to confirm you have cleared with JRF eligibility, since this is the gate the fellowship sits behind.
• Fellowship award stage: Once NET-JRF is cleared, the fellowship sanction and joining process is handled through the UGC. There is no separate public "application status" page for NFPwD, so the practical way to confirm your fellowship has been sanctioned is:
  • Check for a sanction letter or communication addressed to you or your university's research section from the UGC.
  • Call the UGC helpline numbers, 011-23604446 or 011-23604200, and ask specifically about the status of your National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities application, quoting your NET-JRF roll number and university.
  • Email or write to the UGC scholarship/fellowship division through the contact details on ugc.gov.in, since phone lines can be hard to reach during peak processing months.
• University research/scholarship section: In practice, most scholars get their status updates faster through their own university's research or scholarship cell, which handles the paperwork with the UGC on the scholar's behalf. Ask this office to confirm whether your joining report and documents have been forwarded, and whether the first instalment has been released.
• Stipend disbursal stage: Once the fellowship is running, "status" mostly means checking whether your monthly stipend has been credited. This is tracked through your university's finance or accounts office rather than a UGC portal, since disbursal is usually routed through the institution.
• Renewal stage: Each year, or at the JRF-to-SRF transition after two years, your continuation depends on a progress report from your research supervisor. Follow up with your supervisor and the research section to confirm this report has been submitted and accepted, since a delay here is a common reason a stipend gets held up without the scholar being formally rejected.

If you have applied and heard nothing for several months, do not assume silence means rejection. Follow up in writing (email) rather than only by phone, so you have a record of your enquiry and can reference it in later follow-ups.

Common reasons for rejection

Because this fellowship depends on clearing NET-JRF first and then being processed through a university, most rejections or delays happen for reasons that are specific to this two-stage structure rather than generic form errors.

• NET-JRF not actually held, or held in the wrong stream: The fellowship is reserved for candidates who clear NET-JRF (or CSIR-UGC NET-JRF) specifically, not a plain NET-qualified (Assistant Professor eligibility only) result. If your scorecard shows NET-qualified but not JRF-qualified, you are not eligible for this fellowship regardless of your disability certificate. Fix: reappear for NET and aim specifically for a JRF-eligible rank before applying.
• Disability certificate below the benchmark, or from the wrong authority: A certificate showing disability of less than 40%, or one issued by a doctor or hospital that is not recognised as a competent certifying authority under the disability rules, will not satisfy the eligibility check. Fix: get the certificate reissued or re-assessed through a government medical board or authority empowered to certify benchmark disability, and ensure the percentage is clearly stated.
• Admission not yet regular and full-time: Applying while still finalising admission, or being enrolled part-time or through distance mode, is a mismatch with the fellowship's requirement of full-time MPhil/PhD registration. Fix: complete your admission formalities and confirm full-time regular status with your university before your fellowship paperwork is submitted, and get this confirmed in writing by the university.
• Already holding another fellowship for the same period: Since the fellowship cannot be combined with another central or state government fellowship for the same research, an active award like a state government scholarship or a different UGC/ICSSR fellowship running concurrently will block sanction or lead to recovery later. Fix: formally surrender or complete the other fellowship, and disclose any prior award honestly in your application rather than leaving the university or UGC to discover it later.
• University fails to forward or verify documents on time: A large share of delays and effective rejections are administrative rather than about the candidate's eligibility. If the university's research section is slow to verify your disability certificate, degree documents or NET-JRF proof, or forwards an incomplete file to the UGC, the case can stall indefinitely. Fix: keep your own file of certified copies, follow up in person with the research section, and escalate to the head of department or dean if forwarding is delayed beyond a reasonable time.
• Supervisor's progress report missing at renewal: Continuation from Junior to Senior Research Fellow, and each year's renewal, depends on the supervisor certifying satisfactory progress. A missing or late progress report, not any fault of the scholar's eligibility, is a frequent cause of a stipend being stopped or a renewal being denied. Fix: proactively remind your supervisor well before the renewal date and confirm the report has been submitted to the university and forwarded to the UGC.
• Reservation category claimed without supporting certificate: If you claim the SC or ST quota within the 200 fellowships but do not submit a valid, current caste certificate, your claim under that quota can be set aside even if you otherwise qualify on the general criteria. Fix: submit a valid caste certificate from the competent revenue authority alongside your other documents if you are claiming reserved-category consideration.