WISE-KIRAN (Women in Science and Engineering - KIRAN)

What is WISE-KIRAN?

WISE-KIRAN: Women in Science and Engineering, KIRAN, is the Department of Science and Technology's umbrella programme for increasing women's participation in science and engineering. WISE-KIRAN grew out of the earlier KIRAN initiative (Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing) and now runs as a single DST division covering everything from school-level outreach to fellowships for scientists past retirement age.

According to the DST portal, WISE-KIRAN addresses the two points at which women most often leave science in India: the transition from postgraduate study into research, and the break in career that follows marriage, childbirth or relocation. Its components are built around those two gaps.

WISE-KIRAN is not a single scheme with one application form. It is a family of components, each with its own age band, eligibility rule and call schedule. Applying to the wrong component is the most common mistake.

Key objectives

• Increase the number of women in research careers in science and engineering.
• Provide a re-entry route for women scientists returning after a career break.
• Build research infrastructure at women's universities and colleges.
• Embed gender equity in the way scientific institutions are run.
• Start the pipeline at school level through Vigyan Jyoti.

Main features

• Fellowships ranging from Rs 37,000 a month plus HRA under WISE-PhD to Rs 67,000 a month plus HRA under WISE-PDF.
• Research grant of Rs 1 lakh a year and institutional overhead of Rs 0.50 lakh a year under WISE-PhD.
• Component-specific age bands from 25 to 62 years.
• All applications are filed online on the DST e-PMS portal, onlinedst.gov.in.
• Every fellowship component is open only to women.

What are the components of WISE-KIRAN?

Who is eligible for WISE-KIRAN?

You qualify if:

• You are a woman. Every fellowship component of WISE-KIRAN is reserved for women scientists and technologists.
• You meet the age band of the component you are applying for to 27 to 45 for WISE-PhD, 27 to 60 for WISE-PDF and WISE-SCOPE, 25 to 45 for WISE-IPR, and up to 62 for WIDUSHI.
• You hold the required qualification. A postgraduate degree in basic or applied sciences (M.Sc., M.Phil., M.Tech., M.Pharm. or B.Tech.) for WISE-PhD, and a PhD in science or engineering for WISE-PDF, WISE-SCOPE and WIDUSHI.
• You have a host institution willing to provide space and facilities, and a mentor or supervisor who has consented in writing.
• For WISE-PhD, you are not in regular employment, and you have not already completed two or more years of PhD study.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a man. WISE-KIRAN fellowships are open to women only, and there is no equivalent male category within the programme.
• You are outside the age band of the component. DST checks age as on the closing date of the call, and the three-year relaxation applies only to SC, ST and physically challenged candidates under the stated components.
• You are a woman in regular employment applying for WISE-PhD, that component is restricted to unemployed women.
• You have already completed two or more years of PhD study and are applying for WISE-PhD.
• You lack the required degree for the component, for example, applying for WISE-PDF without a PhD.
• You have no host institution or mentor consent, since DST fellowships are held at an institution and not in a personal capacity.
• No call is open for that component. WISE-KIRAN components run on announced calls, not rolling applications.

What documents are required for WISE-KIRAN?

How to apply for WISE-KIRAN fellowships

1. Identify the right component for your stage; WISE-PhD for doctoral work, WISE-PDF for post-doctoral research, WISE-SCOPE for re-entry through a translational project, WIDUSHI if you are near or past retirement, WISE-IPR for intellectual property training, or WINGS for international exposure.
2. Check the age band and qualification for that component against your own date of birth and degree, including the three-year relaxation if you are SC, ST or physically challenged.
3. Find a host institution and mentor. Approach a recognised university, national laboratory or R&D institution and obtain written consent from the proposed mentor or PhD supervisor.
4. Watch dst.gov.in for the call for proposals for your component. Calls are announced periodically and are not open all year; the last WISE-PhD call listed on the DST page closed on 31 December 2024.
5. Register on the DST electronic project management system at onlinedst.gov.in and complete your applicant profile.
6. Prepare the research proposal in the DST proforma, objectives, methodology, work plan, timeline and budget.
7. Upload the supporting documents — degree certificates, date of birth proof, category certificate if claimed, mentor consent, host institution endorsement and the employment status declaration.
8. Submit online before the call closes, and note the reference number. DST accepts online submissions through e-PMS; check each call notice for whether any hard copy is additionally required.
9. Await expert committee evaluation. Selected candidates receive a sanction order stating the fellowship amount, duration and the research grant payable.

How much does WISE-KIRAN pay?

According to the DST portal:

• WISE-PhD, Rs 37,000 per month plus House Rent Allowance as per norms, a research grant of Rs 1 lakh a year, and Rs 0.50 lakh a year as institutional overhead. The project duration is a maximum of five years.
• WISE-PDF; revised emolument of Rs 67,000 per month plus House Rent Allowance, a research grant of Rs 2 lakh a year, equipment support of up to Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 1 lakh a year as institutional overhead. The DST portal sets the WISE-PDF project tenure at a maximum of three years.

Rates for WISE-SCOPE, WIDUSHI, WISE-IPR and WINGS are set in the office memoranda on revision of fellowships published by DST and in each individual call notice. Because DST revises these rates from time to time, check the current call document rather than relying on an older figure.

The institutional components; CURIE for infrastructure at women's universities and postgraduate colleges, and GATI for gender equity charters: give grants to institutions, not to individuals, and are applied for by the institution.

Which WISE-KIRAN component should you choose?

• Finished your master's and want to do a PhD, and are not employed? WISE-PhD.
• Have a PhD and want to run your own project? WISE-PDF.
• Took a break from research and want to return with a project addressing a societal problem? WISE-SCOPE, which works across five thematic areas.
• Near or past retirement with an interdisciplinary idea? WIDUSHI, up to age

• Want a career in patents and IP rather than the bench? WISE-IPR, a one-year training programme for women aged 25 to 45 with a postgraduate degree or PhD.
• Want international research exposure? WINGS, across its internship, fellowship and scientific visit modules.
• Still in school? Vigyan Jyoti, for girls in Classes 9 to 12, which offers camps and mentoring rather than any cash benefit.

Common reasons WISE-KIRAN applications are rejected

• Wrong component chosen for the applicant's stage or qualification.
• Age outside the band on the closing date of the call.
• Employment status, a woman in regular employment applying for WISE-PhD.
• More than two years of PhD already completed when applying for WISE-PhD.
• No mentor consent or host institution endorsement, which makes the application incomplete.
• Proposal submitted after the call closed, or outside e-PMS.
• Budget or duration exceeding the component's limits, such as a WISE-PhD plan running beyond five years.

Help and contact for WISE-KIRAN

• WISE-KIRAN Division, Department of Science and Technology, Technology Bhawan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi 110016 to phone 011-26567373
• WISE-KIRAN team lead: Dr Umesh Kumar Sharma, Scientist G and Head, email uk[dot]sharma[at]nic[dot]in
• Application portal: onlinedst.gov.in
• Scheme pages and call notices: dst.gov.in; search for "WISE-KIRAN"

WISE-KIRAN applications are free. DST does not appoint agents or consultants, and no intermediary can secure a fellowship on your behalf.