ICSSR Grant-in-Aid for Professional Associations to Publish Research Journals

What is the ICSSR Grant-in-Aid scheme for research journals?

The Scheme of Grant-in-Aid for Professional Associations/Organisations of Social Scientists is run by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, through its Research Survey and Publication division. According to the ICSSR, the scheme provides grants-in-aid to professional associations and organisations of social scientists: including universities, colleges and research institutes, for the publication or running of their research journal(s).

Academic journals in the social sciences are often published by scholarly associations or university departments that cannot cover printing, editorial and peer-review costs from subscriptions alone. This ICSSR scheme helps such institutions keep credible, peer-reviewed social science journals in print.

The most important thing to understand is that this is an institutional scheme. The applicant is the organisation that runs the journal, a registered association, university, college or research institute: not an individual author, editor or reader.

Who is eligible for the ICSSR journal grant?

An organisation can apply if it:

• Is a registered professional association or organisation of social scientists, or a university, college or research institute.
• Publishes or runs a research journal in the social sciences.
• Runs a peer-reviewed, academically credible journal (with an editorial board, review process and, typically, an ISSN).

Who cannot apply:

• Individual scholars cannot apply for a personal payment under this scheme. If you are an individual who wants help to publish your own thesis or research as a book, use the separate ICSSR Publication Grant/Subsidy scheme instead.
• Unregistered bodies or those with no genuine, peer-reviewed social science journal are not eligible.
• Non-social-science journals fall outside the scheme.

This is the single point readers most often get wrong: the scheme supports a journal run by an institution, and it is the institution that applies. There is no citizen application for a personal cash benefit here.

What does the scheme provide?

The benefit is a grant-in-aid toward the cost of publishing or running the research journal — for example editorial, printing and production costs, within the conditions ICSSR sets. According to the ICSSR, the support is provided to the association or institution, which remains responsible for the journal's academic standards and for accounting for the grant.

The exact ceiling and admissible costs are laid down by ICSSR in the scheme guidelines and are revised over time; they are not published as one flat figure. This guide therefore does not quote a single rupee amount, the applicant institution should check the current guideline in the Research Survey and Publication section of icssr.org.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the ICSSR journal grant

1. Read the scheme guideline in the Research Survey and Publication section of icssr.org to confirm eligibility, admissible costs, the ceiling and the documents required.
2. Register the institution and log in to the ICSSR applicant portal at app.icssr.org.
3. Open the Grant-in-Aid (research journal) application and enter the journal's details: title, ISSN, frequency and editorial board.
4. Upload the required documents: registration proof, peer-review policy, audited accounts/budget and journal issues.
5. Submit the application on behalf of the organisation. ICSSR assesses the journal's academic standing and the budget before sanctioning support.
6. Report and account for the grant as required, since continued support depends on the journal meeting ICSSR's conditions.

All communication and grant-in-aid bills are addressed to the concerned divisional head at ICSSR, as the Council advises on its website.

Help and contact

• ICSSR (headquarters): JNU Institutional Area, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi - 110067; phone +91-11-26741849 / 50 / 51.
• Applicant portal: app.icssr.org
• Scheme page: icssr.org/research-survey-publication

A note on scope

This is a narrow institutional grant, not a public benefit, and its programme-level detail is limited by design. The operative ceiling and conditions live in the current scheme guideline. Because it serves a small number of scholarly journals, it may read better as a section within a broader guide to ICSSR research and publication support than as a standalone page. Institutions should verify the current terms on icssr.org, and individuals should note plainly that they cannot apply for a personal benefit here.

How to check your application status

Since this grant is applied for and tracked entirely at the institution level, the person who registered the application on the ICSSR applicant portal is the one who can check its progress. There is no separate public tracking number given to individual scholars, because individuals are not the applicants here.

1. Log in to app.icssr.org using the credentials created when the institution registered on the portal. The dashboard for a registered applicant typically lists every application the institution has submitted, along with its current stage.
2. Check the application's stage on the dashboard. Institutional grant applications generally move through stages such as submitted, under scrutiny by the Research Survey and Publication division, and sanctioned or not recommended. The exact stage labels shown depend on the current portal build.
3. Watch for a query or clarification request. ICSSR may seek additional information, a revised budget, or missing documents before it processes the file further. These requests usually appear on the portal itself or by email to the registered contact, so an institution should check the email address it used to register.
4. Call the ICSSR office if the portal status has not changed for a long period. Use the numbers on file: +91-11-26741849 / 50 / 51, and ask specifically for the Research Survey and Publication division, since that is the division that handles this journal grant, not the ICSSR helpdesk in general.
5. Write to the divisional head if a phone follow-up does not resolve the query. The ICSSR website advises that grant-in-aid correspondence and bills be addressed to the concerned divisional head, so a written follow-up referencing the journal's title and the application date is the most reliable way to get a specific answer.

Because sanction, disbursal and any renewal condition are tied to the individual grant cycle and to ICSSR's current guideline, an institution should not assume silence means rejection. It should actively follow up through the portal and by phone rather than wait indefinitely.

Common reasons for rejection

Applications for this grant most often fail for reasons connected to the journal's institutional standing or academic credibility, not to a paperwork technicality alone.

• The applicant is an individual, not a registered institution or association. This scheme funds a journal run by an organisation. An editor or scholar applying in their personal capacity, without the backing of a registered association, university, college or institute, is turned down because the application does not fit the scheme's design. Fix: apply through the institution or association that actually runs and is accountable for the journal, not as an individual.
• The journal is not genuinely peer-reviewed. ICSSR expects a credible academic review process: an editorial board, a review procedure and typically an ISSN. A journal that cannot show this, or that reviews submissions only informally, is assessed as not meeting the academic bar. Fix: put a documented editorial board and peer-review policy in place before applying, and be ready to show past issues as evidence.
• The journal falls outside the social sciences. The scheme is specific to social science research journals. A general-interest, multidisciplinary or non-social-science journal is outside its scope even if it is otherwise well run. Fix: confirm the journal's subject scope matches ICSSR's social science mandate before applying; if it does not, this is not the right grant to pursue.
• The budget or audited accounts do not clearly show how the grant will be used. ICSSR reviews the journal's running costs and the specific use proposed for the grant. A budget that is vague, inconsistent with the journal's actual scale, or unsupported by audited figures raises doubt during scrutiny. Fix: submit a clear, itemised budget tied to real costs such as editorial, printing and production, backed by the institution's audited accounts.
• Incomplete or inconsistent registration proof. If the documents submitted do not clearly establish that the applicant is a currently registered association, university, college or research institute, the application can stall or be rejected. Fix: submit current registration proof that matches the applicant's name exactly as it appears elsewhere in the application.
• Weak or missing evidence of circulation and continuity. While circulation details are not mandatory, an application with no evidence that the journal has a real readership, a publication history or a track record of regular issues is harder for ICSSR to assess favourably against one that documents this. Fix: include back issues and any available circulation or subscription information even though it is optional, since it strengthens the case for continued support.