Short Term Fellowship under the Human Resource Development Programme for Health Research

What is the Short Term Fellowship for Health Research?

The Short Term Fellowship is one component of the Human Resource Development (HRD) scheme of the Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, implemented with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). According to the DHR-ICMR guidelines, the HRD scheme is meant to create a pool of trained health-research personnel by giving faculty of medical and health institutions advanced training and exposure to the latest techniques in emerging areas of clinical, medical and health sciences.

The short-term fellowship at Indian institutes lets a serving faculty member spend 1 to 3 months training at a leading Indian institute in a specific technique or research area, then bring that skill back to their own college or institute. It is a capacity-building fellowship for professionals, not a scholarship for students and not a personal cash grant paid on demand.

Who is eligible for the short-term fellowship?

A candidate can apply if:

• The candidate is regular faculty of a recognised medical college or health-research institute.
• The candidate is aged up to 55 years as on the last date of application.
• The candidate holds a qualifying degree - MD, MS, MDS, MBBS, BDS, MVSc, MSc, M.Pharma, M.Tech or equivalent, with a PhD in health/biomedical research where the guidelines require it.
• The candidate has the minimum period of regular service specified in the guidelines (commonly around three years as regular faculty).
• The application is forwarded by the head of the parent institution.

Who cannot apply:

• Candidates above the age limit.
• Those who are not regular faculty of a recognised institution - the fellowship is not open to the general public or to students.
• Candidates who have already received a government fellowship of one month or more for the same research subject.
• Applications not routed through and forwarded by the parent institution.

What financial support does the fellowship provide?

According to the DHR-ICMR HRD guidelines, the short-term fellowship at Indian institutes provides:

• A stipend of about Rs 40,000 per month when the training is at a different station from the candidate's place of work.
• A stipend of about Rs 20,000 per month when the training is at the same station.
• A one-time contingency grant of up to Rs 20,000 to meet associated expenses.

These are the amounts set in the scheme guidelines; exact figures and any revision are notified in the periodic call for applications, so candidates should confirm the current rate for their cycle.

How long is the fellowship?

The short-term fellowship at Indian institutes runs for 1 to 3 months. The programme also has a short-term fellowship abroad (about 15 days to three months) and long-term fellowships, each with its own age limit and terms, notified in the same DHR-ICMR call for applications.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the short-term fellowship

1. Watch for the DHR-ICMR call for applications for HRD fellowships, which is released periodically on the DHR and ICMR websites.
2. Confirm your eligibility - regular faculty, age up to 55, qualifying degree and required service, with no earlier government fellowship of one month or more for the same subject.
3. Prepare your training plan and obtain acceptance from the Indian host institute where you propose to train.
4. Apply online through the DHR-ICMR HRD portal, uploading qualification, service and identity documents and the training plan.
5. Route the application through your parent institution, which must forward it; applications not forwarded by the institution are not considered.

Help and contact

• ICMR / DHR HRD scheme: 011-26588895
• Official portal: dhr.gov.in (and the DHR-ICMR HRD portal linked from the ICMR website)

Eligibility, stipend amounts, the age limit and the application window for the short-term fellowship are set by DHR and ICMR and change from one call to the next, so verify the current terms in the latest DHR-ICMR call for applications before applying.