Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Candidates (now NFSC)

What was the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for SC candidates?

The Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF) for Scheduled Caste candidates was a research fellowship funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and administered by the University Grants Commission (UGC). It supported Scheduled Caste scholars pursuing MPhil and PhD research so that more students from SC communities could enter higher education and academic careers.

According to UGC records, the scheme provided about 2,000 fresh fellowship slots a year, split roughly as 1,500 for Humanities and Social Sciences and 500 for Science streams. Selected scholars received a monthly fellowship at UGC's Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and then Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) rates, along with House Rent Allowance and an annual contingency grant for books, travel and research expenses.

In 2019 the scheme was restructured and renamed the National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students (NFSC). The fellowship did not end - it continues under the new name with the same purpose and broadly the same design. New applicants should therefore apply under NFSC, not RGNF, which is why this guide treats RGNF as a renamed rather than a discontinued scheme.

Who was eligible for the fellowship?

You could apply if:

• You belonged to a Scheduled Caste and held a valid caste certificate.
• You had qualified the UGC-NET Junior Research Fellowship or the UGC-CSIR joint NET-JRF.
• You had secured admission to MPhil or PhD research in a UGC/AICTE-recognised university or institution.

You could not apply if:

• You did not belong to a Scheduled Caste (candidates from other categories are covered by separate fellowships such as the National Fellowship for OBC or for ST students).
• You had not qualified the required NET-JRF.
• You were already availing another fellowship of a similar nature for the same research - a scholar cannot draw two research fellowships at once.

The successor NFSC scheme carries forward the same eligibility spine: SC status, NET-JRF qualification, and admission to MPhil/PhD research.

How much did the fellowship pay?

The fellowship followed UGC's standard research-fellowship structure:

• A monthly JRF stipend for the initial years of research, stepping up to the higher SRF rate for the later years.
• House Rent Allowance as per rules where hostel accommodation is not provided.
• An annual contingency grant for books, stationery, travel and other research needs.

Because UGC revises the JRF and SRF rates periodically, the exact rupee figure depends on the year of award. The successor NFSC scheme pays at the prevailing JRF/SRF rates rather than a frozen historical amount, so applicants should check the current rate notified by UGC before relying on any specific number.

What documents were required?

How to apply for the fellowship (now NFSC)

1. Qualify the UGC-NET Junior Research Fellowship (or the UGC-CSIR joint NET-JRF) in your subject.
2. Secure admission and register for MPhil or PhD research in a UGC/AICTE-recognised university or institution.
3. Register and apply on the UGC NFSC portal, uploading your NET-JRF result, SC certificate, admission proof, Aadhaar and bank details.
4. Have your university/research institution verify and forward your claim, since fellowship release is routed through the institution.
5. Track your application and fellowship release on the NFSC portal, and raise any issue through the institution's research/scholarship cell or the UGC helpdesk.

Why the scheme was renamed

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment restructured several of its fellowship and scholarship programmes in 2019 to standardise names and administration. The RGNF for SC candidates became the National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students (NFSC), and the parallel RGNF for ST candidates became the National Fellowship for ST students under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Scholars who were already receiving RGNF continued to be paid; the change mainly affected the name and the application portal for new applicants.

Help and grievance redressal

• Apply / track: the UGC NFSC portal (nfsc.net)
• Institutional route: your university's research or scholarship section, which forwards and certifies fellowship claims
• Policy owner: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (socialjustice.gov.in)

Applying for the fellowship is free. No agent is required, and the fellowship is released only through the recognised institution where the scholar is registered.

Who is eligible

The core eligibility spine (SC status, NET-JRF qualification, MPhil/PhD admission) carries over unchanged from RGNF into NFSC. Beyond that basic entry test, a few conditions decide whether a scholar keeps the fellowship year to year, which the earlier eligibility notes on this page do not cover.

Eligible to hold and continue the fellowship:

• Registered as a full-time MPhil or PhD research scholar, not a part-time or distance-mode candidate.
• Enrolled in a university, IIT, IISc, or other institution recognised by UGC/AICTE for research programmes.
• Not simultaneously drawing any other fellowship, scholarship, or paid assistantship of a similar nature (JRF-equivalent) for the same research work.
• Submitting satisfactory progress reports through the host institution at the intervals UGC/NFSC prescribes, since continuation from JRF to SRF and year-on-year renewal is tied to this progress certification, not automatic on qualifying once.
• Completing the tenure within the maximum permissible fellowship period set for MPhil/PhD research; scholars who overshoot this window without an approved extension stop being eligible for further payment.

Not eligible, or eligibility lapses:

• Candidates who qualified NET-JRF but have not yet secured MPhil/PhD admission; the fellowship attaches to an active research registration, not to the NET-JRF result alone.
• Scholars who switch from full-time to part-time research, or discontinue/withdraw from the programme, since the fellowship is paid only for active full-time enrolment.
• Scholars availing a foreign fellowship, a central/state government job, or another UGC/ICSSR/ICHR fellowship for the same period.
• Candidates whose SC certificate is under dispute, cancelled, or issued by an authority not competent for the state/UT of origin.
• A change of university or supervisor without following the institution's and NFSC's transfer procedure, which can suspend release until the transfer is formally recorded.

How to check your application status

Because NFSC releases fellowship money through the host institution rather than directly negotiating with each scholar, status checks work at two levels: the portal record and the institution's internal processing.

1. Log in to the NFSC portal (nfsc.net) with the credentials used at registration and open the applicant dashboard; it shows whether the application is under institutional verification, forwarded to UGC, approved, or where a specific instalment stands.
2. Check the instalment/payment status tab separately from the application status tab. Selection approval and the actual release of a JRF/SRF instalment are tracked as different stages, so an "approved" fellowship can still show a pending instalment while the university's forwarding paperwork catches up.
3. Confirm with the university's research or scholarship cell if the portal status has not moved for an extended period. Most delays at this scheme happen at the institutional forwarding step (the university must certify enrolment and progress before UGC releases funds), not on the UGC side, so the cell can usually tell you exactly what document or certification it is waiting on.
4. Raise a ticket with the UGC NFSC helpdesk through nfsc.net if the institution confirms it has forwarded everything and the portal still shows no movement; keep the application/registration ID and the date of institutional forwarding on hand when you write in.
5. Watch for a status change to "discontinued" or "on hold", which typically means a progress report, admission-continuation proof, or bank/Aadhaar verification is outstanding. Resolving the missing item and re-submitting through the institution is what moves the status forward again, not re-registering from scratch.

Common reasons for rejection

• NET-JRF or NET-CSIR result does not match the subject of MPhil/PhD registration. The fellowship is granted against the specific subject qualified in NET-JRF; a scholar who qualifies NET-JRF in one subject and registers for research in an unrelated subject is often turned down. Fix: register for research in the same or a closely allied subject as the NET-JRF qualification, and be ready to explain the alignment if asked.
• Admission or registration proof is provisional, not final. Applications submitted with a provisional admission letter, before formal registration with the university's research board, are frequently rejected or kept pending indefinitely. Fix: apply only after formal MPhil/PhD registration is confirmed by the university, and upload the registration certificate rather than the admission offer letter.
• SC certificate does not match the applicant's current state of residence or is issued by a non-competent authority. A certificate issued years earlier from a different state, or by an authority below the prescribed rank (such as a certificate not countersigned by the required revenue official), gets flagged during verification. Fix: obtain or re-validate the certificate from a competent authority in the state relevant to the application, matching the format UGC/NFSC accepts.
• Already drawing a similar fellowship for the same research. Declaring, or being found later to hold, another JRF-equivalent fellowship, assistantship, or paid position for the same research period leads to rejection or discontinuation. Fix: fully relinquish any other fellowship or paid research assistantship before applying, and disclose it honestly rather than leaving the declaration field blank.
• Institution fails to verify or forward the application within the window. Even a fully eligible scholar's claim gets rejected or lapses if the host university does not certify enrolment and forward the case in time. Fix: follow up directly with the research/scholarship cell soon after submitting online, rather than assuming the portal submission alone completes the process.
• Bank account or Aadhaar details do not match institutional records. Mismatched names, an inactive account, or an account not linked to Aadhaar causes payment failure even after approval, which shows up as a stalled or reversed disbursal rather than an outright rejection. Fix: use a bank account in the scholar's own name, linked to the same Aadhaar submitted in the application, and update the institution immediately if either changes.
• Lapsed progress reporting during an ongoing fellowship. Scholars who skip the periodic progress certification required for JRF-to-SRF continuation can have their fellowship discontinued mid-course, which is a rejection of continuation rather than of the original application. Fix: submit progress reports through the institution on the schedule UGC/NFSC specifies, even in years when nothing has gone wrong.