PhD Students' Stipend in India 2025: Has it Risen?

According to the updated PhD Stipend Council, the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) scholarship has increased from Rs 31,000 to Rs 37,000.

The Ministry of Education has provided Research Associates, Senior Research Fellowships (SRF), Junior Research Fellowships (JRF), and PhD. Students and Dr. Scholars will be grateful for this. It is said that the growth of research and the development of fellows will significantly change the ecosystem. All-India Research Scholars Association has been against for more than one year to increase a fellows.

The Ministry communicated this enhancement on Tuesday.  The monthly emoluments for the researchers in Higher Education Institutes have been raised with effect from January 1, 2023.  This will ease the research environment and give a huge boost to the R&D ecosystem.  The decision will cost the exchequer around Rs 725 crore extra.

From the latest fellowship scholarship table, the JRF scholarship is revised from the previous 31,000 to Rs 37,000, while SRF has increased from Rs 35,000 to Rs 42,000. For research colleague 1, Rs 58,000 will be given; 2–61,000 rupees for research colleague; for research colleague 3-RS 67,000.

Previously, the students also demonstrated their demands at Jawaharlal Nehru University and IIT Delhi.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST), in response to protests by research associates and PhD students in May 2023, stated, "The top concern is the fellowship hike. The DST and other departments are working on it. We urge students to bear with us. The matter will be resolved shortly."

AIRSA commented on X, "Patience is not enough. Resilience is needed to develop strong infrastructures for Indian researchers to innovate. AIRSA deems it important to cover every point raised by us in the request letter when confronted in a meeting setting with scholars."

That's the plan

The Prime Minister Fellowship Scheme was jointly established by the Government and Industrial Partners to attract talent into doctoral research, develop leadership in academics, and expose them to global best practices, innovations, and their application to promote research in the industrial realm within academic institutions. The program envisages awarding up to 100 new scholarships annually of a maximum of Rs 8.7 lakh each. According to the conditions of the scheme approved by the Department of Science and Technology, the scholarship can be awarded for 4 years, wherein 50% is from the Government and 50% from the sponsoring firm. It is an open scheme, and applications can be made at any time throughout the year at the portal www.primeministerfellowshipscheme.in.

Essential Factors of the Fellowship Programme

The Fellowship of the Prime Minister is not just about suitably competitive scholarships, but also imparts to the fellows. Inclusion in the system of annual review meetings guarantees them extensive national and global exposure and mentoring from academic and industrial specialists. In addition, the mentoring collections are regularly arranged with the support of experts outside the British Council. To date, review meetings have been held under the most respected institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. Outreach workshops are organized at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, PSG Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, and Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Qualification 

1. To be eligible, the applicant must register full-time doctorate. Program in any institute, institute, or research facility in India. The candidate's doctoral registration date shall not exceed 14 months after the date of application. Registration for a doctorate will not take place later than 14 months after the date of application.
2. The candidate must then find a valid industry partner who is willing to contribute financially to the research project and provide mentoring as well as advice.
3. The research subject that is novel, real-world applicable, and has potential for application in the industry must be explicitly agreed upon by the candidate and the partner.
4. The selected candidate should be open to working with or for the supporting company, as required by the company, during the entire project duration. 

The selection criteria

1. The proposal should have a strong R&D component rather than exploratory research, creativity, and the need to be internationally peer-reviewed.
2. The project must have strong commercialization potential- a highly probable chance of success in the marketplace.
3. Solid credentials will be required from the applicant, the academic adviser, and the industrial mentor.

Types of Assistantship in the PhD

Teaching Assistantship: Under this scheme, students will be expected to assist teachers in a variety of courses to ensure the running of classes.

Research Assistantship: Under this scheme, students assist faculty members with a variety of research tasks.  They might be assigned only a few academic activities.

It mainly deals with research assistantship in developing and managing the IT systems of the institute.  This would be for PhD scholars with a background and interest in systems.  Students will be expected to plan, organize, and carry out IT duties.  Priority will be given to candidates with prior experience in system administration. Scholarships and Assistantships are only awarded to full-time normal students, including joint Ph.D. program enrollees.

Apart from the salary, the teaching/research assistantship has some portion of academic work. Three components make up the assistantship, which is the Maintenance Stipend:

provided that continuing for full-time attendance at the Institute, students who are admitted under a financial plan are eligible to receive the sustenance stipend.

Scholarship: This amount will be given for good scholarship awards; this part of the assistantship will be continued on a full-time basis as long as the student maintains certain academic performance levels.

Academic work compensation- hence, this is the remaining amount that may be looked at as remuneration for academic work done on behalf of the Institute. Continued support will be checked out semester to semester and will mainly depend on academic performance and any administrative and academic responsibilities allotted.

Online PhD

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FAQs

Do PhD stipends get paid every month?

A stipend is a sum of money provided tax-free to you to maintain life while being a student. Though disbursed as monthly installments, it is not treated as salary. 

Which country has the best PhD programs in the world?

Indeed, the "best" country to pursue a PhD varies according to particular needs, research interests, and career aspirations. Nevertheless, among the many countries recognized for PhD programs are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. 

Can I do a PhD in India?

A PhD in India is suitable for people intending to work at Indian research institutes and universities, focusing on regional topics of research; while aspiring academicians who hope for jobs around the world or in eminent Indian institutions tend to go for PhDs abroad.