Dr. V.N. Mathur Award (M.Sc. Mathematics)

What is the Dr. V.N. Mathur Award?

Dr. V.N. Mathur Award (M.Sc. Mathematics) is a student award given by Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar, the state agricultural university that works under the Department of Agriculture, Government of Uttarakhand. The award carries Rs 20,000 per year and is granted for a duration of one year to a meritorious student of the M.Sc. Mathematics programme.

The award appears in the Uttarakhand government's official scheme compendium "Meri Yojana, Rajya Sarkar" (second edition), published by the Programme Implementation Department, Government of Uttarakhand. It is listed at serial number 36 in the table of student scholarships and awards run by the university's student welfare wing. Readers who search for it in Hindi will find it written as डॉ. वी.एन. माथुर पुरस्कार (एम.एससी. गणित).

Pantnagar University is not only an agricultural institution. Its College of Basic Sciences and Humanities teaches Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry and allied subjects at postgraduate level, and the M.Sc. Mathematics programme sits inside that college. The Dr. V.N. Mathur Award is one of a long list of named awards, memorial medals and fellowships that the university administers from endowments and university funds for students of these programmes.

What the award is meant to do

• Recognise academic merit in a subject that does not usually attract scholarship money at a state agricultural university.
• Reduce the direct out-of-pocket cost of a two-year postgraduate degree, hostel dues, examination fees, books and computing costs.
• Keep a named endowment alive by attaching it to a specific programme each year.

Who can get the Dr. V.N. Mathur Award?

You are eligible if:

• You are a student, not a research fellow, employee or an alumnus.
• You are enrolled in the M.Sc. Mathematics course at GBPUAT, Pantnagar.
• You are within the period of study for which the university has invited applications for the award.
• Your academic record stands up to a merit comparison against the other applicants in the same session, because the award is decided on merit and not on need alone.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• You are studying M.Sc. Mathematics at any other university or college in Uttarakhand — Kumaun University, HNB Garhwal University, Doon University, Uttarakhand Open University or a private university. The award is internal to GBPUAT Pantnagar.
• You are enrolled at Pantnagar University but in a different subject. Other named awards exist for B.Sc. Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Home Science, Fisheries and Ph.D. Mathematics, and each has its own eligibility line in the same table.
• You are a Ph.D. Mathematics scholar. That is covered by the separate Dr. S.K. Sharma award of Rs 25,000 per year listed at serial 35.
• You have already drawn the award for the one-year duration and are claiming it as an automatic continuation. Continuation is not automatic.

The published entry does not set an income ceiling, a caste category restriction, or an Uttarakhand domicile condition for this particular award. Where the state compendium is silent, the university's own student welfare rules for that year apply, so it is worth reading the notice text carefully before filling the form.

What documents are required?

The state compendium records the documents simply as those required "in accordance with the university guidelines prescribed for this scheme", so the authoritative list for any given year is the one printed on the notice circulated by the university.

How to apply for the Dr. V.N. Mathur Award

1. Watch for the notice. GBPUAT Pantnagar invites applications for its student awards through notices circulated to the colleges and posted in the Student Corner section of gbpuat.ac.in. Check the College of Basic Sciences and Humanities notice board as well, since Mathematics sits there.
2. Collect the prescribed form. Applications are accepted only on the university's own printed proforma. A plain-paper request or an email is not an application.
3. Fill the form and attach proof of merit. Enter your enrolment details, programme, semester and OGPA, and attach the marksheets or grade record the notice asks for.
4. Submit the form through your college, within the window the notice gives, to the office that handles student welfare and scholarships at Pantnagar.
5. Wait for committee evaluation. A committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor examines the applications received and evaluates them under a procedure decided in advance.
6. Approval and payment. On the committee's recommendation, the Vice Chancellor grants approval, after which the award amount is paid to the selected student.

How much is paid and when?

The award amount is Rs 20,000 per year, and the duration recorded against it in the state compendium is one year. The compendium does not break the amount into monthly instalments the way it does for some other Pantnagar awards, for example, the K.C. Sharma Fellowship for M.Sc. Agronomy students is listed at Rs 1,000 per month for three semesters, and the university Ph.D. scholarship at Rs 6,000 per month. The Dr. V.N. Mathur Award is expressed as an annual figure, and payment follows the Vice Chancellor's sanction rather than a fixed monthly credit date.

For comparison, the neighbouring entries in the same table are Dr. S.K. Sharma (Ph.D. Mathematics) at Rs 25,000 per year, the Dr. A.N. Mukkopadhyay Gold Medal at Rs 25,000 per year per student, the Smt. Bimla Rani Memorial Award at Rs 12,000 per year and the Varun Panwar Memorial Award at Rs 10,000 per year per student. That range gives a fair sense of where this award sits.

Why applications get rejected

• Application not on the prescribed form. The process is form-based; an informal letter is set aside.
• Applying after the window closes. The notice sets the dates, and late submissions are not carried to the next round.
• Enrolment in the wrong programme. Only M.Sc. Mathematics students at Pantnagar qualify for this specific award.
• Missing or unverified grade record. Merit is the deciding factor, so an application without the OGPA or marksheet cannot be scored against others.
• Losing on comparative merit. The award goes to one selected student, so a complete and eligible application can still be unsuccessful in a strong year.

If your application is not selected, the practical step is to apply again in the next cycle rather than to appeal, since selection is comparative.

Where to ask questions and raise a grievance

• First stop: the office at GBPUAT Pantnagar that issued the notice, usually the student welfare wing, through your Dean or Head of Department.
• University website: gbpuat.ac.in, where scholarship and fellowship notices are published in the Student Corner section.
• Parent department: the Department of Agriculture, Government of Uttarakhand, under which the university functions.
• State scheme reference: the "Meri Yojana: Rajya Sarkar" compendium on uk.gov.in, which records the award, the amount and the selection route.

No fee is payable to apply for this award, and no agent can get a student's name added to the list. Selection rests entirely with the committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor.