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.

How to check your application status

The short-term fellowship is not a portal where an individual applicant logs in and tracks a ticket the way one would for a subsidy or a certificate. Because every application must be routed through the sponsoring institution, status tracking works mainly through that channel and through direct contact with DHR-ICMR.

1. Check with your institution's nodal office first. The head of the department or the research cell that forwarded your application on the DHR-ICMR HRD portal usually receives any communication from DHR or ICMR about the status of applications from that institution, including shortlisting or requests for clarification. This is the fastest way to know where your file stands.
2. Log back into the DHR-ICMR HRD portal used at the time of application. If the portal issued an application or reference number, keep it. Some cycles show a basic status (submitted, forwarded, under review, selected) against that number; this varies by call, so do not assume a status field will always be present.
3. Call the DHR-ICMR HRD helpline at 011-26588895 if the portal shows no update or if the application window for your cycle has closed and you have heard nothing. Have your application/reference number, the cycle or call-for-applications date, and your institution's name ready before calling.
4. Watch for the results or selection list on dhr.gov.in. DHR and ICMR typically announce selected fellows for a given cycle through a notice or list on the official site rather than a private status page, so checking the site periodically after the review period ends is often more useful than repeatedly querying a portal.
5. Follow up in writing through your institution if a reasonable time has passed after the stated review period with no communication. A forwarding letter carries the institution's reference, which DHR-ICMR staff can trace faster than an individual applicant's name alone.

Because the scheme runs in periodic calls rather than as an always-open window, there is usually no long wait once a call closes: candidates are either shortlisted for that cycle or advised to reapply in the next one.

Common reasons for rejection

• Application not forwarded by the parent institution. This is the single most common reason a short-term fellowship application is turned down outright. DHR-ICMR requires the head of the applicant's medical college or institute to forward and endorse the application; a candidate who applies directly online without routing the form through their institution's administration will have it rejected regardless of how strong the training plan is. Fix: confirm with your institution's research cell or dean's office before the call closes, and build in time for the internal forwarding process, which can take longer than the online submission itself.
• Age or service eligibility not met. Candidates above 55 years as on the last date of application, or those who are not yet regular faculty (for example, ad hoc, contractual or visiting appointments, or faculty who have not completed the minimum required years of regular service), are rejected at the eligibility screening stage. Fix: verify your exact age on the closing date and your regular-service date from your appointment letter before applying, rather than estimating.
• No acceptance letter from the host institute. An application without a firm, dated acceptance from the specific Indian institute where the training is proposed is incomplete and is not considered, since the fellowship funds training at a named host institute, not open-ended travel. Fix: secure written acceptance from the host institute's department or faculty in charge before submitting, not merely an informal verbal understanding.
• Vague or missing training plan. A proposal that does not clearly state the technique or research area to be learned, why that specific host institute was chosen, and how the skill will be used at the parent institution afterward is a common ground for rejection at the review stage, since reviewers are assessing capacity-building value, not just administrative eligibility. Fix: write the training plan around one specific technique or skill gap, name the host institute's relevant expertise, and state the intended use back home.
• Overlap with an existing fellowship for the same subject. Candidates who have already received a government fellowship of one month or more for the same research subject are disqualified, since the scheme is meant to build new capacity rather than fund repeat training in an area already covered. Fix: choose a genuinely new training area if you have held a related fellowship before, and disclose any prior fellowship rather than omitting it.
• Qualification documents not matching the required degree list. Applications from candidates whose degree does not fall within the qualifying list (MD, MS, MDS, MBBS, BDS, MVSc, MSc, M.Pharma, M.Tech or equivalent, with PhD where the guidelines specify it) are rejected on paper scrutiny. Fix: check the exact qualification and PhD requirement stated in the current call for applications before applying, since requirements can differ slightly between cycles.
• Applying outside the notified call window. Because the scheme runs through periodic calls for applications rather than as an always-open scheme, an application submitted when no call is active, or after a call has closed, is not processed. Fix: track dhr.gov.in and the ICMR site for the notified call dates rather than assuming the portal accepts applications year-round.