Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF)

What is the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship?

Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) is a doctoral fellowship for high- performing research scholars in Indian institutions, launched by the Government of India in 2018 and now anchored under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) framework, having been introduced by the Ministry of Education. PMRF was created to stop India's strongest engineering and science graduates from leaving for doctoral programmes abroad.

PMRF is not an admission route. Scholars must already hold, or be about to take up, a PhD or Direct PhD place at a PMRF-granting institution; IISc Bengaluru, the IITs, the IISERs, and a notified set of NITs and central universities, and then compete for the fellowship.

Key objectives

• Attract the country's best B.Tech, M.Tech, M.S. and M.Sc. graduates into doctoral research in India rather than overseas.
• Improve the quality and volume of research output from Indian institutions.
• Build a research workforce that can feed national technology missions and higher-education faculty pipelines.

Main features

• Monthly fellowship of Rs 70,000 rising to Rs 80,000, well above standard JRF/SRF rates.
• Rs 2 lakh per year research or contingency grant for conference travel, equipment and consumables.
• Two entry channels, Direct Entry and Lateral Entry.
• Duration of up to five years for Direct PhD scholars and up to four years for regular PhD scholars.
• A teaching contribution expectation built into the fellowship.

How much does PMRF pay?

According to the PMRF scheme documents and the PMRF pages maintained by granting institutions, the fellowship follows a fixed escalation:

On top of the stipend, every PMRF fellow receives a research grant of Rs 2 lakh per annum, described in some institutional documents as a contingency grant. Across a five-year Direct PhD that adds up to Rs 10 lakh of discretionary research funding on top of roughly Rs 45 lakh in fellowship payments.

For comparison, this is materially higher than the standard national JRF rate, which is why PMRF is treated as the premier doctoral fellowship in the country.

Who is eligible for PMRF?

PMRF eligibility depends entirely on which channel you enter through.

You can apply through Direct Entry if:

• You are joining, or within the first semester of joining, a regular PhD programme at a PMRF-granting institution.
• You have completed or are pursuing M.Tech or M.S. by Research at a PMRF-granting institution with a minimum CGPA of 8.0, having completed a minimum number of courses at the time of application.
• You hold a valid GATE qualification where the channel requires it.

You can apply through Lateral Entry if:

• You are already enrolled in a PhD, Direct PhD, or an M.Tech/M.S./M.Sc.-to-PhD track at a PMRF-granting institution.
• You are within the first two years of that programme.
• You have a CGPA of at least 8.5 across your PhD coursework, excluding non-graded components such as ethics, project courses and research methodology.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not hold admission to a PhD or Direct PhD programme at a PMRF-granting institution. PMRF is not a standalone scholarship you can win and then use to seek admission.
• You have been upgraded from an M.S. or M.Tech programme to PhD, such scholars are not eligible under the Direct Entry channel.
• You are beyond the permitted window: past the first semester for Direct Entry, or past two years into the programme for Lateral Entry.
• Your CGPA falls below the threshold for your channel.
• You are enrolled at an institution not on the PMRF-granting list for that cycle.

Because thresholds and the institution list are revised cycle by cycle, verify the exact figures in the guideline document for the cycle you are applying to before submitting.

What documents are required for PMRF?

How to apply for PMRF

1. Secure admission to a PhD or Direct PhD programme at a PMRF-granting institution. This is a prerequisite, not a parallel step.
2. Check the current cycle notification on pmrf.in and with your institution's PMRF convener. Recent cycles have been announced around May and December.
3. Identify your channel; Direct Entry if you are in your first semester of a regular PhD, Lateral Entry if you are within two years of an ongoing PhD or Direct PhD.
4. Register on the PMRF application portal and complete the online form with your academic record, CGPA, and where applicable your GATE score.
5. Upload the research proposal, transcripts, letters of recommendation and the supervisor's endorsement.
6. Have your host institution forward the application. PMRF applications are routed through the institution's selection committee, not directly to the centre.
7. Attend the institutional selection process — typically a presentation and interview before a review committee assessing research aptitude and academic record.
8. If selected, accept the offer and complete joining formalities. Confirm you have relinquished any other fellowship before PMRF payments begin.

How long does PMRF last and how is it renewed?

PMRF supports Direct PhD scholars for up to five years and regular PhD scholars for up to four years, according to the PMRF pages published by granting institutions such as IIT Madras.

Continuation is not automatic. Fellows are subject to periodic review of research progress by the host institution. Fellows who fail review can have the fellowship discontinued or converted to a regular institute assistantship, at the institution's discretion.

What are PMRF fellows expected to do besides research?

PMRF was designed with a teaching obligation attached. Fellows are expected to contribute to teaching assistantship duties in their host department; running tutorials, laboratory sessions and grading, as part of the fellowship rather than as extra paid work. The precise load is set by the host institution and varies across IITs, IISERs and central universities.

The rationale is explicit in the scheme's framing: PMRF is meant to produce not just research output but future faculty, and teaching exposure during the PhD is treated as part of that training.

Which institutions grant PMRF?

PMRF is granted by:

• Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru
• All Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
• Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)
• A notified set of National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and central universities

The exact list is revised for each cycle. Check the current cycle notification on pmrf.in. A university that granted PMRF in an earlier cycle is not guaranteed to be on the list for the cycle you are applying to.

Where to get help with PMRF

• PMRF portal: pmrf.in, cycle notifications, guideline documents and the application link
• Your institution's PMRF convener. The practical first point of contact, since applications are processed institutionally
• Anusandhan National Research Foundation: anrfonline.in
• Your PhD supervisor: endorsement is mandatory and the research proposal is normally developed with the supervisor

A note on verification: the PMRF portal was intermittently unavailable at the time of this fact-check, and the fellowship figures above were confirmed against PMRF pages published by granting institutions and the Department of Science and Technology's India Science, Technology and Innovation portal. Confirm cycle dates directly with your institution before relying on them.