Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme for Electronics and IT: Young Faculty Research Fellowships

What is the Young Faculty Research Fellowship under the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme?

The Young Faculty Research Fellowship (YFRF) is a component of the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme for Electronics and IT, run by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) through Digital India Corporation. According to the scheme's salient features, the YFRF is intended to retain and attract bright young faculty members in the fields of Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/IT-enabled services (IT/ITES), so that strong researchers stay in academia and mentor PhD candidates.

The Young Faculty Research Fellowship provides a research fellowship of Rs 20,000 per month over and above the faculty member's regular salary, together with a research/contingency grant of Rs 5,00,000 per year. The annual grant is released on a pro-rata quarterly basis; about Rs 1.25 lakh per quarter; from the date the fellowship commences. Support is provided for a maximum of five years. Phase II of the scheme, with an outlay of Rs 481.93 crore over nine years, provides for 50 Young Faculty Research Fellowships.

The key thing to understand is the route. YFRF is not a benefit an individual applies for on a portal. It is tied to a participating institute: each institute supported under the scheme earns one YFRF for every five full-time PhD candidates it enrols, and the institute nominates an eligible faculty member against that allocation.

Who is eligible for the Young Faculty Research Fellowship?

You can be considered if:

• You are a young faculty member holding a PhD, early in your research career.
• You work in an ESDM or IT/ITES area at an institute that participates in the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme.
• Your institute has an available YFRF allocation; earned at the rate of one fellowship per five full-time PhD candidates enrolled under the scheme.

You cannot apply if:

• You are at a non-participating institution that is not supported under the scheme.
• You do not hold a PhD or work outside ESDM and IT/ITES areas.
• You are a student or a full-time PhD candidate — those are covered under the separate candidate fellowship category, not the YFRF.
• You expect to apply directly to the government, there is no individual application; the institute nominates.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Young Faculty Research Fellowship

Because there is no direct individual application, the route runs through the participating institute.

1. Confirm your institute participates. Check whether your institute is supported under the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme and is enrolling full-time PhD candidates, since YFRF allocations are earned that way.
2. Approach the scheme coordinator. Contact the faculty member or office that coordinates the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme at your institute to learn whether a YFRF slot is available.
3. Prepare your research proposal. Draft the research plan in an ESDM or IT/ITES area that you would pursue under the fellowship.
4. Get nominated by the institute. The institute forwards your nomination against its YFRF allocation to Digital India Corporation/MeitY through the scheme process.
5. On award, receive the fellowship, the Rs 20,000 monthly top-up and the quarterly instalments of the Rs 5,00,000 annual research grant.

How much does the YFRF provide?

• Rs 20,000 per month as a research fellowship, paid over and above the faculty member's regular salary.
• Rs 5,00,000 per year as a research/contingency grant, released quarterly at about Rs 1.25 lakh per quarter on a pro-rata basis.
• Support for a maximum of five years.

Help and where to verify

The scheme portal at phd.dic.gov.in and the Digital India Corporation website publish the salient features, participating institutes and current notifications for the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme, including the YFRF component. Because the number of fellowships, the monthly top-up and the research grant are governed by the Phase II standard operating procedures and can be revised, faculty should confirm current figures and slot availability through their institute's scheme coordinator before proceeding.