Right to Information Fellowship

What is the Right to Information Fellowship?

The Right to Information Fellowship is a short-term research fellowship offered by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which is the nodal department for the Right to Information Act, 2005 under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. According to the RTI portal maintained by DoPT, the fellowship supports researchers from the media, civil society professionals and RTI trainers to carry out field-based research on themes relating to the Right to Information.

The purpose is to deepen understanding of how the RTI Act works in practice and to generate documented evidence that can help improve the RTI regime. The fellowship is deliberately small and competitive: it offers four short-term fellowships, each intended to produce a concrete research output within a fixed period.

This is a professional research fellowship, not a student scholarship or a general grant. It is aimed at people who already work with information rights; journalists, activists and trainers, rather than at the general public.

How much does the RTI Fellowship pay?

According to details of the scheme, each selected fellow receives:

• A monthly stipend of Rs 50,000 for three months; Rs 1,50,000 in total.
• A one-time grant of Rs 50,000 to cover research-related expenses such as books, travel and production costs.

Taken together, a fellow can receive up to about Rs 2,00,000 over the fellowship. The research output may take various forms, a monograph, an investigative story, or a multimedia project — and, per the scheme terms, is owned by the Government of India, which may publish it to enhance the RTI regime.

Who is eligible for the RTI Fellowship?

You can apply if you are:

• A researcher from the media (print, broadcast or digital journalism), or
• A civil society professional, or
• An RTI trainer, with
• Demonstrated experience in RTI-related work, and a credible research proposal on an RTI theme.
• Applicants are generally expected to fall within the 25 to 40 age band.

You cannot apply if you:

• Have no background or proven experience in RTI work. The fellowship targets practitioners, not first-time researchers.
• Are outside the notified eligibility band or do not meet the conditions set in the specific call under which the fellowship is opened.

Because the exact eligibility conditions and age limits can be revised from one call to the next, the guidelines issued for the current call are the final word. Confirm them before applying.

How to apply for the RTI Fellowship

The fellowship is offered against periodic calls issued by DoPT rather than through a permanent online form. When a call is open:

1. Read the current guidelines on the RTI portal (rti.gov.in) and the DoPT website to confirm eligibility, the research themes invited, the stipend terms and the deadline.
2. Prepare a detailed research proposal on an RTI-related theme, this is the heart of the application and the main basis for selection.
3. Compile your supporting documents, CV/bio-data showing RTI experience, proof of age, and samples of prior work.
4. Submit the application to the Department of Personnel and Training in the manner and format specified in the notification, before the stated deadline.
5. Await selection, which is made on the strength of the proposal and the applicant's track record; selected fellows are then engaged for the three-month period.

What documents are required?

Is this the right guide for you?

The Right to Information Fellowship is a niche, practitioner-focused research grant with only four positions and periodic calls. If you are looking for a student scholarship, this is not it: see the education and scholarship schemes of the Ministry of Education instead. If you are a journalist, activist or RTI trainer with a solid research idea, watch the DoPT RTI portal for the next call and prepare your proposal in advance, since the application window is short when it opens.

How to check your application status

The RTI Fellowship does not run through a standing online portal with a login-based tracking dashboard, since it is offered only against periodic calls issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Because of this, status checking works differently from most benefit schemes:

• Acknowledgement first. When you submit your application and proposal to DoPT by the mode specified in the call notification, note whether an acknowledgement number, receipt or confirmation email is issued. Keep this reference safe, it is the only thing that ties your submission to a file at DoPT's end.
• Watch the RTI portal for results. Selection under this fellowship is typically announced through a notice or press release rather than an individual status update per applicant. Check rti.gov.in periodically after the deadline for the call closes, since that is the primary channel DoPT uses to communicate outcomes.
• Follow up in writing, not by phone. There is no dedicated fellowship helpline number published for this scheme. If a reasonable period has passed after the stated selection timeline in the call notification and you have heard nothing, the appropriate route is a written follow-up (letter or email) to DoPT referencing your acknowledgement number, rather than repeated calls to a general department line.
• File an RTI application if genuinely stuck. Since this fellowship sits under the ministry that administers the RTI Act itself, applicants who get no response after a reasonable wait can, as a last resort, file a formal RTI request to DoPT asking for the status of their fellowship application. This is unusual for most government schemes but is a legitimate and available route here given the subject matter of the scheme.
• Assume no news within the call cycle means non-selection. With only four fellowships awarded per call and no formal rejection letters typically issued to unsuccessful applicants, the practical signal that an application was not selected is the announcement of the selected fellows without your name on it, rather than any direct communication to you.

Common reasons for rejection

Because selection is proposal-driven and highly competitive (only four fellowships are awarded per call), most rejections trace back to the substance of the proposal rather than paperwork errors. The specific, avoidable reasons include:

• Weak or generic research proposal. A proposal that restates well-known facts about the RTI Act instead of proposing original field research, a specific investigative angle, or a concrete methodology is the single most common reason applications lose out. The fix is to narrow the proposal to a specific, researchable question (for example, RTI implementation in a particular sector or state) with a clear plan for fieldwork, rather than a broad essay on RTI's importance.
• No demonstrated track record in RTI-related work. The fellowship is aimed at media persons, civil society professionals and RTI trainers who already work in this space, not first-time researchers or general applicants. A CV that does not clearly show prior RTI-related reporting, advocacy or training work is a common ground for rejection. The fix is to foreground specific RTI-related assignments, published pieces, or training engagements in the CV, not just a general professional history.
• Falling outside the age band for the call. Applicants are generally expected to be within the 25 to 40 age range, though the exact band is set afresh in each call notification. Applying without checking the current call's stated limits, or assuming an earlier call's terms still apply, results in rejection on eligibility grounds. The fix is to read the specific notification in force before applying rather than relying on past cycles.
• Missing or unconvincing supporting documents. A proposal submitted without a proper CV/bio-data, proof of age, or (where relevant) samples of prior work weakens the application even if the research idea itself is sound, since selectors are also assessing whether the applicant can credibly deliver the proposed research. The fix is to treat the CV and work samples as evidence for the proposal's feasibility, not a formality.
• Missing the submission deadline or format. Since applications go to DoPT only against a specific notified call, with no rolling or year-round window, a proposal submitted after the deadline, or not in the format and mode specified in that notification, is not considered. The fix is to submit well before the deadline and follow the notification's format exactly, rather than reusing a generic proposal template from an unrelated fellowship.
• Proposal not aligned with the research themes invited. Each call may indicate the kind of RTI-related themes DoPT wants researched. A proposal on a tangential subject with only a loose connection to the RTI regime is less competitive than one squarely addressing the invited themes. The fix is to align the proposal explicitly with the themes stated in the current call before submission.