ICSSR Scheme of Publication Grant/Subsidy for Doctoral Thesis, Research Reports and Papers

What is the ICSSR Publication Grant/Subsidy scheme?

The Scheme of Publication Grant/Subsidy 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 publication grants or financial subsidy to Indian nationals for the publication of manuscripts of research work done in any field of the social sciences.

The scheme addresses a real problem in academic publishing: high-quality social science research, a doctoral thesis, a research report, or a set of papers presented at seminars and conferences; often has a small readership and does not attract a commercial publisher willing to bear the printing cost. The ICSSR subsidy helps such work reach print as a book or monograph.

As of 31 March 2026, the ICSSR reported a cumulative 1,908 publication grants awarded under this scheme, according to figures on its website.

Who is eligible for the ICSSR Publication Grant?

You can apply if:

• You are an Indian national.
• You have completed research work in a field of the social sciences and have a publishable manuscript, for example a revised doctoral thesis, a research report, or a collection of seminar/conference papers.
• You can provide a publisher's willingness to publish and an estimate of the publication cost.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not an Indian national.
• Your work is outside the social sciences — the scheme is restricted to social science disciplines.
• You are seeking funds for something other than publication (for example the research itself, which is covered by ICSSR's separate research-project schemes).

The scheme is aimed at individual scholars and authors, unlike the ICSSR journal-running grant, which is for institutions and associations. If you are an association wanting to run a research journal, that is a different ICSSR scheme.

What does the scheme provide?

The benefit is a financial subsidy toward the cost of publishing the approved manuscript as a book or monograph. According to the ICSSR, the support is a publication grant/subsidy rather than a royalty or a stipend to the author.

The exact ceiling and the admissible components (such as printing, and any conditions on the number of copies or their distribution to institutions) are set by ICSSR in the scheme guidelines. Because these are revised over time and are not published as one flat figure, this guide does not quote a single rupee amount, check the current Publication Grant guideline on icssr.org before you apply.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the ICSSR Publication 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 and log in to the ICSSR applicant portal at app.icssr.org.
3. Open the Publication Grant application and fill in your details, the manuscript's subject, and the proposed publisher.
4. Upload the manuscript and supporting documents: nationality proof, publisher's willingness and cost estimate, and any referee reports.
5. Submit the application. ICSSR arranges academic assessment of the manuscript, and the grant is sanctioned toward the approved publication cost.
6. Keep the acknowledgement and respond to any queries from the division.

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, subsidy-based scheme for academic authors, not a general public benefit. The programme-level information published by ICSSR is limited by design. The operative detail (ceiling, admissible costs, copy conditions) lives in the current scheme guideline. Scholars should verify those figures against the live guideline on icssr.org rather than rely on a general summary, and should not expect a fixed, headline grant amount.