Vigyan Jyoti

What is Vigyan Jyoti?

Vigyan Jyoti is a flagship initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, launched in December 2019. Vigyan Jyoti works to bring meritorious girl students of Classes 9 to 12 into science, technology, engineering and mathematics; specifically into the STEM areas where women are most under-represented, such as physics, mathematics, engineering and computer science.

Vigyan Jyoti is delivered through schools. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) and Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) act as Vigyan Jyoti Knowledge Centres, with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan; both autonomous bodies of the Ministry of Education; as DST's implementing partners.

Vigyan Jyoti pays no cash scholarship or stipend. Its support is in kind: camps, laboratory visits, mentoring, counselling and academic material. This is the single point most families get wrong about the programme.

Key objectives

• Achieve gender parity in STEM fields where women are under-represented.
• Raise girls' enrolment in those fields at the undergraduate level.
• Provide hand-holding from Class 9 onward, continuing through undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and post-doctoral stages under the wider WISE-KIRAN umbrella.
• Give girls in district-level schools direct access to scientists and to national laboratories they would not otherwise reach.

Main features

• Targets meritorious girl students of Classes 9 to 12.
• Runs through JNV and KV Knowledge Centres; the second phase, launched on 11 February 2021, took the programme to 100 districts.
• Knowledge partners include IITs, IISERs, NITs and laboratories of CSIR, DST, DBT, ICMR and ICAR, plus central and state universities.
• The portal reports reach of over 102,976 students, through 633 science camps, 323 knowledge partner, NGO and laboratory visits, 1,199 role-model interactions and special classes, 121 tinkering and exhibition workshops and 1,224 counselling sessions.
• Vigyan Jyoti is a component of DST's WISE-KIRAN programme for women in science and engineering.

Who is eligible for Vigyan Jyoti?

A student qualifies if:

• She is a girl student.
• She is studying in Class 9, 10, 11 or 12.
• Her school is a designated Vigyan Jyoti Knowledge Centre. A Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya or Kendriya Vidyalaya selected under the programme.
• She is shortlisted as meritorious by the school during the registration phase, based on academic record and interest in science.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a boy student; Vigyan Jyoti exists specifically to correct the gender gap in STEM and is open only to girls.
• Your school is not a Vigyan Jyoti Knowledge Centre. Students of private schools, state board schools and other institutions outside the JNV and KV network are not eligible to be registered under the programme.
• You are in Class 8 or below, or already in college. Vigyan Jyoti's school component covers Classes 9 to 12 only; higher stages are handled by other WISE-KIRAN components.
• You are looking for a cash scholarship, Vigyan Jyoti does not have one, so there is nothing to apply for on that basis.
• You attempt to register directly without your school. Registration is routed through the Knowledge Centre.

What documents are required for Vigyan Jyoti?

How to apply for Vigyan Jyoti

1. Check whether your school is a Vigyan Jyoti Knowledge Centre. Knowledge Centres are Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas selected by DST; if your school is not one, you cannot be registered.
2. Ask your school's Vigyan Jyoti nodal teacher or science teacher when the next student registration phase opens. Registration phases are announced on vigyanjyoti.dst.gov.in: Phase VII student registration opened on 28 July 2026.
3. Submit your latest report card and school identity details to the nodal teacher for the merit-based shortlisting of the cohort.
4. Obtain your parent or guardian's written consent for participation, which is needed for residential science camps and outstation visits.
5. Let the school register you on the Vigyan Jyoti portal during the open registration phase. Students and parents do not register directly.
6. Once enrolled, attend the scheduled activities; science camps, role-model sessions, laboratory visits, counselling sessions and workshops organised by the Knowledge Centre.
7. Use the Student Corner on vigyanjyoti.dst.gov.in for C-STEM workshops, the PyCode programming series, the Sparkle demonstration series, lectures by eminent scientists and mock test papers for JEE and other exams.

What does Vigyan Jyoti actually give a student?

Vigyan Jyoti provides exposure and mentoring rather than money. According to the Vigyan Jyoti portal, enrolled students get:

• Science camps, including residential camps at knowledge partner institutes.
• Visits to laboratories and institutes — IITs, IISERs, NITs and laboratories under CSIR, DST, DBT, ICMR and ICAR.
• Role-model interactions with practising women scientists, including interactions with senior figures from ISRO and international laboratories.
• Career counselling sessions for both students and parents.
• Tinkering and exhibition workshops, including sessions at Atal Tinkering Labs.
• Academic support, the PyCode programming series, the Sparkle demonstration series, C-STEM workshops covering chemistry, physics and biology, NTSE preparation and mock test papers for JEE.

The counselling component is deliberately aimed at parents as well as students, because family expectations are a major reason girls drop out of STEM streams after Class 10.

Where does Vigyan Jyoti operate?

Vigyan Jyoti began in December 2019 in 50 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. Its second phase, launched on 11 February 2021, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science; added 50 more JNVs, taking coverage to 100 districts. Kendriya Vidyalayas were subsequently brought in as Knowledge Centres alongside JNVs, and DST has continued to run further student registration phases, the latest being Phase VII from 28 July 2026.

Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti operates through eight regional offices: Bhopal, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Pune and Shillong, and these regional structures are used to coordinate Vigyan Jyoti activities on the ground.

Common misunderstandings about Vigyan Jyoti

• Expecting a scholarship. Vigyan Jyoti has no cash award; families that apply expecting money are disappointed.
• Trying to register directly. Only the school Knowledge Centre can register a student on the portal.
• Assuming any school can join. A student at a school outside the JNV and KV Knowledge Centre network cannot be enrolled, however meritorious she is.
• Missing the registration phase. Registration opens in defined phases; a student who is not registered in the open phase waits for the next one.
• Confusing Vigyan Jyoti with WISE fellowships. WISE-PhD, WISE-PDF and WISE-SCOPE are separate WISE-KIRAN components for women researchers, with their own monthly fellowships and their own eligibility rules.

Help and contact for Vigyan Jyoti

• Portal: vigyanjyoti.dst.gov.in; registration phases, activity calendars and student resources are published here
• First point of contact: the Vigyan Jyoti nodal teacher at your Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya or Kendriya Vidyalaya
• Department of Science and Technology, WISE-KIRAN division; Vigyan Jyoti sits under the WISE-KIRAN umbrella, and DST publishes divisional contacts on dst.gov.in

Vigyan Jyoti participation is free. No fee is payable to any person or agency for a student's enrolment, and because registration is done by the school, no external agent has any role in the process.