Govt Scholarships

University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued notification for the grant of Post-Graduate Merit Scholarships for the academic year 2010-12. These scholarships are for the candidates who secured University ranks at the Under Graduation / Degree level in disciplines such as Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Social Sciences, Commerce and Languages. University rank holders in non- professional courses only eligible for these scholarships / fellowships. The selection of candidates will be purely based on merit only. The selected candidates can pursue their Post-Graduate programme in any area / specialization mentioned in the above disciplines. They can pursue courses in any recognised institution. The notification was issued in Employment News dated 12-18 March 2011. Following are other details:

Eligibility for UGC PG Merit Scholarships 2011 for the academic year 2011-12: Applicants must be First and Second Rank holders at the university level in under-graduate level in the specified disciplines. Candidates have to submit the proof of their merit. The scheme is applicable for students who have taken admission in regular and full-time Master’s Degree course only. They must have joined in any recognized university, deemed / private university, autonomous college or a post graduate college. Age must be below 30 years at the time of admission into PG course. Distance education candidates are not eligible.

Duration of the PG Merit Scholarship is 2 years. Total number of scholarships under the scheme are 3000. Selected awardees will be paid a Scholarship of Rs. 2000/- per month for 10 months in a year. Thus the entire scholarship will be for a total 20 months.

Application Procedure: Interested candidates can download application forms from www.ugc.ac.in. Filled in forms may be submitted to ‘Deputy Secretary (SR-III), University Grants Commission, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002’ within 30 days from the date of publication of this advertisement in the Employment News / Rojgar Samachar. Probable last date is 12th April 2011. You can view UGC website link http://www.ugc.ac.in/notices/rankholderadvertisement.pdf for further details.

Notification for INSPIRE fellowships for 2012 will be announced by Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. INSPIRE is meant for Innovation in Scientific Pursuit for Inspired Research. This is a prestigious fellowship program initiated by Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. These fellowships will be awarded for top / first rank holders in Post Graduation and those who are very much interested in pursuing Doctoral Program (Ph.D.) with fellowship in Science and Technology. The basic purpose of the fellowship scheme is to encourage young students to go for research in science education. Fellowship amount under INSPIRE scheme is equivalent to NET qualified candidates.

INSPIRE fellowships are offered in the disciplines of 1. Life Sciences 2. Chemical Sciences 3. Physical Sciences 4. Engineering Sciences 5. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 6. Mathematics and Statistics 7. Medical Sciences 8. Pharmaceutical Sciences 9. Veterinary Sciences and 10. Agricultural Sciences

Eligibility: Applicants should have secured first rank in the Post Graduate Degree in any of the Basic and Natural Sciences. Candidates with degree in Engineering Sciences / Pharmaceutical Sciences / Agricultural Sciences / Medical Sciences / Veterinary Sciences are also eligible. Selection will be based on merit in the qualifying examination. Selected candidates will be awarded research grants for five years to pursue research leading to Ph.D. Degree in any reputed institute. Applicants must have completed their qualifying examination after 2008. There are several other Government Scholarships available for those interested in science research.

Application Procedure for INSPIRE: Interested candidates can obtain application format on DST website www.inspire-dst.gov.in. Address to send filled in applications: Head, INSPIRE Program, Department of Science & Technology, Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi – 110 016. Candidates need higher cut offs in class 12 for UG scholarships.

Apart from these, INSPIRE Awards and Internships also offered to the students from Tenth class to Graduates and Post Graduates. Internship camps will be conducted for tenth passed candidates across the country and will be paid Rs. 5000 as an award. About 10000 students of Bachelors Degree and PG courses also will receive Scholarships of Rs. 80000 per year. They must be between 17-22 years of age. Another innovative scheme of of the DST is INSPIRE Faculty Awards Scheme.

Last date for receipt of completed applications along with required documents for all types of INSPIRE awards, fellowships and scholarships: March 2012 (Tentative). Details of application procedure, previous papers if any and selection procedure can be obtained from www.inspire-dst.gov.in .