Swami Vivekananda Single Girl Child Fellowship for Research in Social Sciences

What is the Swami Vivekananda Single Girl Child Fellowship for Research in Social Sciences?

The Swami Vivekananda Single Girl Child Fellowship for Research in Social Sciences is a doctoral research fellowship administered by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The fellowship is meant to encourage single girl children: girls who are the only child of their parents; to pursue advanced research in the social sciences, and to reduce the financial barriers that often stop women from completing a Ph.D.

According to the government's scholarship information, the fellowship supports a single girl child pursuing a full-time Ph.D. at a recognised university or institution in India. It provides a monthly research fellowship together with an annual contingency grant for books, travel and research expenses, so that the scholar can concentrate on her doctoral work.

Key features

• A social-science doctoral fellowship, administered by ICSSR under the Ministry of Education.
• Reserved for single girl children doing a full-time Ph.D..
• Provides a monthly fellowship plus an annual contingency.
• Tenable for up to five years or the duration of the Ph.D., whichever is earlier.

How much does the fellowship pay?

The fellowship provides a monthly research fellowship; in the range of about Rs 25,000 in the initial period, rising in the later years of the tenure — along with an annual contingency grant to cover books, field work and other research costs. The exact rates are fixed by ICSSR in the fellowship guidelines and follow the standard single-girl-child fellowship structure; scholars should confirm the current figures in the specific call for applications, since ICSSR revises fellowship rates from time to time.

The fellowship is tenable for up to five years, or the duration of the Ph.D., whichever is earlier, and is generally counted from the date of joining or the date notified in the award letter.

Who is eligible for the fellowship?

You can apply if:

• You are a single girl child, the only child of your parents, with no siblings (brother or sister).
• You are pursuing or registered for a full-time Ph.D. in a social science discipline.
• Your Ph.D. is at a recognised university or research institution in India.
• You are not simultaneously drawing another fellowship for the same research.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You have siblings, the fellowship is exclusively for a single girl child.
• You are not registered for a full-time Ph.D., or are enrolled in a part-time or distance-mode programme.
• Your research is outside the social sciences, which is the domain of ICSSR.
• You are already holding another fellowship or stipend for the same doctoral work.

Because the defining condition is being a single girl child, an affidavit or certificate to that effect is central to the application, alongside proof of full-time Ph.D. registration.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the fellowship

1. Watch for the ICSSR call for the Single Girl Child Fellowship; intake is through periodic notified calls, not continuous rolling admission.
2. Register and fill the online application on the ICSSR portal when the call is open, entering your academic and Ph.D. registration details.
3. Attach the single-girl-child affidavit/certificate, proof of full-time Ph.D. registration in a social-science discipline, and your academic certificates.
4. Submit the application and, where required, route it through your university/research supervisor as specified in the call.
5. Await the award/selection list published by ICSSR; selected scholars receive an award letter and start drawing the fellowship from the notified date.

Where to get help

The fellowship is handled by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. Applicants should refer to the ICSSR portal (icssr.org) for the current call, the exact fellowship rates and the detailed guidelines, and route their application through their university's research cell where the call requires it. Because ICSSR periodically revises fellowship amounts and the number of slots, always confirm the figures in the live notification rather than relying on older circulars.

How to check your application status

Since this fellowship is released through periodic ICSSR calls rather than a continuous portal with individual login-based tracking, checking status largely means following ICSSR's own communication channels rather than a real-time dashboard.

1. Check the acknowledgement you received at submission. When the online application is submitted during an open call, ICSSR typically issues an application/reference number. Keep this number safe, it is the identifier ICSSR staff will ask for if you contact them.
2. Watch the ICSSR website (icssr.org) for the results/award list. ICSSR publishes the list of selected fellows for each call as a notice or PDF on its site. There is usually no separate "track my application" login; the award list itself is the status update.
3. Check your registered email and phone. Award letters and any request for additional documents are generally communicated by ICSSR to the email ID and mobile number entered in the application, so keep both active and checked regularly during the selection window.
4. Contact ICSSR directly for a specific update. If the announced timeline for results has passed and no list has appeared, applicants can write to or call the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi (contact details published on icssr.org) quoting the application/reference number and the specific call/notification under which they applied.
5. Confirm through your university's research cell. Where the call required routing the application through a university or research supervisor, the research cell or Ph.D. coordinator often receives parallel communication from ICSSR and can be a second point of confirmation, especially useful if an individual email goes unanswered.
6. After selection, track disbursement separately. Once awarded, the fellowship is credited to the scholar's bank account; if a monthly payment is delayed, the follow-up is again through ICSSR or the affiliated university's fellowship-disbursement office, not through a public tracking page.

Common reasons for rejection

• Applicant is not a single girl child in the strict sense. The fellowship is reserved for a girl who is the only child of her parents, with no siblings at all. Applications from girls who have a brother, or a sister (even a younger or elder one), are rejected regardless of academic merit. Fix: apply only if you genuinely have no siblings, and be prepared to support the affidavit with any documentation ICSSR's specific call may ask for.
• Single girl child affidavit/certificate is missing, unclear, or not in the required format. Since this is the defining eligibility condition, a vague self-declaration or an affidavit that does not clearly state "only child, no siblings" is a common cause of rejection. Fix: have the affidavit drafted precisely to state that the applicant is the sole child of her parents, and attach it exactly as instructed in the specific call notification.
• Not registered for a full-time Ph.D., or enrolled part-time/via distance mode. ICSSR's fellowship is meant for full-time doctoral scholars; part-time, distance, or "pursuing admission but not yet registered" cases are turned down. Fix: apply only once formal full-time Ph.D. registration is complete, and attach the registration certificate as proof, not just an admission offer letter.
• Research area falls outside social sciences. Since ICSSR's mandate is specifically the social sciences, applications where the Ph.D. subject is not recognised as a social-science discipline get rejected at the eligibility-screening stage. Fix: confirm your department/discipline is listed among ICSSR's recognised social-science subjects before applying.
• Already holding another fellowship or stipend for the same doctoral research. Simultaneous funding for the same Ph.D. work from two sources is not permitted, and such applications are rejected or later cancelled if discovered after selection. Fix: disclose any existing fellowship, JRF, or stipend clearly, and if you wish to switch to this fellowship, formally surrender the other one as required.
• Application submitted outside the notified call window. Because ICSSR does not accept fellowship applications year-round but only during specific notified calls, submissions sent when no call is open, or after a call has closed, are not considered. Fix: apply strictly within the dates given in the current ICSSR notification, and do not rely on a previous year's call schedule.
• Incomplete or unattached academic certificates. Missing mark sheets, degree certificates, or a certificate not matching the qualifying examination named in the application form leads to rejection at scrutiny. Fix: attach complete, matching academic records for every qualifying degree mentioned in the form before submission.