National Post Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF)

What is the National Post Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF)?

National Post Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) is a research fellowship of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the apex research-funding body that absorbed the earlier Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology. N-PDF identifies motivated young researchers and supports them to carry out independent research in frontier areas of science and engineering, working under a mentor at a well-established Indian institution.

According to the ANRF online portal, N-PDF pays a monthly fellowship of Rs 80,000 plus House Rent Allowance for a fixed tenure of two years. Candidates who have submitted their thesis but whose viva-voce is still pending draw Rs 50,000 per month plus HRA until they produce their PhD award, after which the higher rate applies. Alongside the fellowship, ANRF provides a research grant of Rs 2,00,000 per year to meet the direct cost of the research and an overhead of Rs 1,00,000 per year paid to the host institution.

N-PDF is a purely merit-based, individual research fellowship. It is not a scholarship for coursework and it is not tied to any social-category quota, though category-based age relaxation is available.

Who is eligible for N-PDF?

You can apply if:

• You are an Indian citizen.
• You hold a PhD, MD or MS degree, or have submitted your PhD thesis and are awaiting the viva-voce.
• You are within five years of your PhD viva-voce date.
• You are not more than 35 years old on the date of application (relaxable by 5 years for SC, ST, OBC, women and differently-abled applicants).
• You have published at least two research papers by the time you submit the application.
• You have a mentor willing to host you at a recognised Indian institution.

You cannot apply if:

• You want to work in the same institution or department where you obtained your doctoral degree.
• You want to work under your PhD guide or co-guide.
• You have already held an N-PDF, or have previously applied for or held other ANRF/SERB regular grants such as PMECRG, ARG or IRG.
• You are not an Indian citizen or are outside the age and post-PhD windows.

The mentor also has to meet conditions: a regular academic or research position, a PhD in science or engineering, and a cap of two N-PDF fellows supervised at any one time, with no more than two nominations per call.

What does N-PDF provide?

• Fellowship: Rs 80,000 per month plus HRA (Rs 50,000 per month plus HRA for thesis-submitted candidates).
• Research grant: Rs 2,00,000 per year, released to fund consumables, minor equipment, contingency, domestic travel and other direct research costs.
• Overhead: Rs 1,00,000 per year to the host institution.
• Tenure: Two years, non-extendable.

The fellowship is meant to be a full-time engagement. Fellows are expected to work exclusively on the approved research and cannot simultaneously hold a regular salaried job.

What documents are required for N-PDF?

How to apply for N-PDF

1. Register as a researcher on the ANRF online portal at www.anrfonline.in and create your login.
2. Complete your mandatory profile: biodata, photograph, institute address and academic record.
3. Identify and register your mentor on the portal; the mentor must confirm the host institution and endorse your application.
4. Fill in the project details, title, summary, keywords, objectives and the research plan — and upload all supporting documents, including your two best publications and the plagiarism undertaking.
5. Submit the application online before the call deadline and save the acknowledgement.

ANRF issues N-PDF calls periodically; watch the ANRF website and the online portal for the opening and closing dates of each cycle. Selection is made by an ANRF expert committee on the strength of the candidate's record, the research proposal and the mentor's standing.

How is N-PDF different from a PhD scholarship?

N-PDF is a post-doctoral fellowship. You must already hold (or have submitted) a PhD to apply. A JRF/SRF or an institutional PhD scholarship supports you while you earn the doctorate. N-PDF, by contrast, is a launchpad for early-career independent research after the PhD, with a higher stipend, a dedicated research grant and the requirement to move to a new institution and mentor.

Help and where to check

• Official portal: www.anrfonline.in (N-PDF section)
• ANRF website: anrf.gov.in for call notifications and guidelines

ANRF has not published a dedicated N-PDF toll-free helpline; queries are handled through the contact details on the ANRF website and the online portal's help/grievance links. Because benefit amounts and age windows are revised from time to time, always confirm the current figures on the live N-PDF call document before applying.

How to check your N-PDF application status

N-PDF has no separate SMS or helpline-based tracking system; everything runs through the ANRF online portal login.

1. Log in at www.anrfonline.in with the same credentials used to submit the application.
2. Open your researcher dashboard: it shows the application as Submitted, Under Screening, Under Review (sent to subject experts or the ANRF committee), Recommended, or Not Recommended, depending on the stage the call has reached.
3. Check the mentor's login too. The mentor's endorsement status is tracked separately, and an application can stall if the mentor has not logged in to confirm endorsement even after the applicant has submitted.
4. Watch the ANRF website (anrf.gov.in) and the portal's notice board for the results announcement for that call. N-PDF outcomes are typically declared call-wise, not on a rolling basis, so a status of "Under Review" can remain unchanged for weeks until the full batch is evaluated.
5. If the dashboard status has not moved for an unusually long time, or shows an error, raise it through the portal's help or grievance link rather than waiting indefinitely, since ANRF has not published a dedicated N-PDF phone helpline.

There is no offline or in-person status-check route for N-PDF: the portal login is the only official channel.

Common reasons N-PDF applications get rejected

• No mentor confirmation. An application sitting without the named mentor logging in and formally endorsing it on the portal is treated as incomplete and gets screened out. Confirm with the mentor before the deadline that they have logged in and endorsed, not just verbally agreed.
• Applying to the same institution or PhD guide. Proposals that name a mentor from the candidate's own PhD department, or the candidate's own PhD guide or co-guide, are rejected on eligibility grounds. Pick a mentor at a genuinely different institution (or at least a different department with no supervisory link to the PhD).
• Outside the five-year post-viva window. Candidates whose PhD viva-voce happened more than five years before the application are screened out at the eligibility stage. There is no waiver for this window, so applicants close to the cutoff should apply in the earliest possible call.
• Fewer than two publications. Applications without at least two published papers (not "communicated" or "under review" papers) at the time of submission fail the basic eligibility check. Only count papers that have actually been published, with reprints ready to upload.
• Prior N-PDF or overlapping ANRF/SERB grant. A candidate who already held an N-PDF, or has previously availed or currently applied for another ANRF/SERB regular grant such as PMECRG, ARG or IRG, is disqualified since these schemes cannot be combined or repeated.
• Weak or generic research proposal. Beyond the eligibility filter, most rejections at the committee-review stage come from a proposal that is too broad, does not clearly build on the applicant's PhD work and prior publications, or does not justify why the chosen mentor and institution are the right fit. A proposal that reads as a template rather than a specific, feasible two-year plan is unlikely to be recommended.
• Missing or inconsistent documents. A biodata, age proof or category certificate that does not match the details entered on the portal, or a plagiarism undertaking that is unsigned, causes the application to be sent back or rejected outright. Cross-check every uploaded document against the online form before final submission.
• Late or incomplete submission within the call window. N-PDF calls stay open for a limited window (commonly around one month), and the portal does not accept submissions after the deadline. An application left in draft state past the closing date is simply not considered.