Govt Scholarships

Notification for The Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF) Scheme for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes has been announced for the eyar 2011-2012. The RGNFS is aimed at providing financial support for SC and ST students aspiring to pursue research courses suc has M.Phil and Ph.D. in any recognised universities / institutions in India. Candidates studying Full Time M.Phil. and Ph.D degrees in the disciplines of Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences and Engineering and Technology are eligible for RGNF Scheme. There are a total of 2000 fellowships. Out of these 1333 slots are for Scheduled Caste and 667 slots for Scheduled Tribe students every year for all the subjects. Following are details of online application:

Eligibility Requirements: The RGNF Scheme is aimed at SC/ST Candidates who have passed the Post Graduate examination in
concerned subject and desire to pursue research courses without any other fellowships such as JRF of UGC-NET or UGC-CSIR NET. Candidates should be from SC / ST communities and should have passed in the PG Examination in the concerned discipline / subject. Duration of fellowship (RGNJRF and RGNSRF) is for five years.

Selection Procedure: The selection of the candidates for RGNFS will be made based on merit of the candidates. The
candidates must have registered for M.Phil. / Ph.D as early as possible but not later than within a period of two years from the receipt of award letter. The actual payment of fellowship will be executed with effect from the date of joining in the course only.

Fellowship amount will be Rs.8000/-p.m. for initial two years (RGNJRF) and Rs.9000/-p.m. for remaining tenure (RGNSRF). Interested candidates can apply in the prescribed format available online through UGC website www.ugc.ac.in OR http://www.ugc.ac.in/financialsupport/rajivgandhi_scst.pdf . Online Applications should be submitted through www.ugc.ac.in/rgnf . Last date for submission of online applications is 30th August 2011.

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has announced NTSE 2012 notification. NCERT has initiated National Talent Search Examination Scheme (NTSE) in 1963 to identify and encourage talented students at the School education level. The main objective of the NTSE Scheme is to offer scholarships to meritorious students and provide financial assistance to them to excel in the higher education. The NTSE scheme covers all disciplines such as Natural, Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Management and Law. State Governments and NCERT shall conduct examinations at two levels and shortlist the candidates to offer scholarships. NCERT shall award 1000 scholarships for students appearing for Class VIII examinations based on the perormance in written examinations conducted at state and national levels. The scholarship amount for selected students will be 500/- Rupees per month. Following are details of NTSE 2012 notification:

Eligibility and Qualification: All the students studying Class VIII in any recognized schools are eligible for NTSE scholarships. Candidates will be selected based on two-stage examination / selection process for NTSE scholarships. In the Stage-I, selection will be done by respective States / Union Territories through a written examination to the eligible students at the state level. Students who qualify Stage I will be eligible to appear for Stage II examination conducted by NCERT.

Interested candidates can obtain applications from NCERT website www.ncert.nic.in. Application forms can also be obtained from respective state offices. Filled in forms should be sent to concerned atate level offices only. For details such as exam pattern, application procedure and other information, please view www.ncert.nic.in. For examination patterns, last dates for applications for Stage I and Stage II and other details, please visit http://www.ncert.nic.in

Exam Pattern of NTSE Stage I and Stage II:

Stage I examination will be at State / UT levels. This will comprise of two parts, namely 1) Mental Ability Test (MAT) and 2) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering topics such as social sciences, sciences and mathematics.

Stage II examination will be held at the National level. This test will consist of 1) Mental Ability Test (MAT), 2) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering questions from Social Sciences, Sciences and Mathematics.

Address: Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi – 110016; Phone: 011-26560464, 26562704; Website: http://www.ncert.nic.in;
Email: ntse.ncert@yahoo.in

Important Dates for NTSE 2012:

1) For Stage I (State level): Last Date for Submission of Application Forms: 31-8-2011
2) NTSE Stage I exam: 20th November 2011 (On 19th for Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands)
2) For stage II (National level): Examination in All States and Union Territories: 13th May 2012.

Addresses of NTS Liason Officers, 2011-12 for Class VIII:

1) Andhra Pradesh: Deputy Commissiner, Office of the Director of Govt. Examinations, Chapel Road, Abids, Hyderabad – 500001. Phone: 040 – 23237343 / 23237344

2) Karnataka: Director, DSERT, Banashankari, Bangalore – 85. Phone: 080- 26422239. Website: www.dsert.kar.nic.in

3) Kerala: Assistant Professor, SCERT, Vidya Bhavan, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram. Phone: 0471- 2341883. Website: www.scert.kerala.gov.in

4) Tamilnadu: Director, Directorate of Govt. Examinations, College Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai -06. Phone: 044- 2827 2088.

5) Lakshadweep: Principal, Govt. Sr. Secondary School, Kavaratti, UT of Lakshadweep- 682555. Phone: 04896 – 262874.

6) Puducherry: Joint Director, Directorate of School Education, Anna Nagar, Puducherry. Phone: 0413- 2207262.