Parliament Question: Inadequate Availability of UGC Research Fellowships

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 88 ANSWERED ON 20/07/2026 Inadequate Availability of UGC Research Fellowships 88. Dr. Shashi Tharoor: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the number of candidates qualifying the UGC-NET examination, the number of Junior Research Fellowships (JRFs) awarded and the proportion of qualified candidates awarded JRFs during the last five years, year-wise; (b) whether the Government has taken note of the increasing disparity between the number of candidates qualifying the UGC-NET examination and the number of JRFs awarded each year, if so, the reasons therefor; (c) whether the Government proposes to increase the number of JRFs or revise the eligibility criteria, including the existing percentage-based cap, in order to accommodate the growing number of research aspirants, if so, the details thereof; and (d) whether the Government has also taken note that the amount of the UGC Non-NET Fellowship has remained unchanged at Rs. 8,000 per month since 2006 and if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to revise the fellowship along with the expected timeline for such revision? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (d): The University Grants Commission (UGC) provides the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) based on the National Eligibility Test (NET). Six percent of the candidates who appear in the NET are qualified for Assistant Professor and out of these qualified candidates, UGC awards JRF for 11,750 slots per year. In addition, fellowships are also offered by different Ministries and Organizations to support the scholars pursuing Ph.D. Special fellowships are provided for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities and Single Girl Child. The Ph.D. scholars are eligible to join research projects sanctioned by various funding agencies to the Universities and to avail of funding to support their research, leading to the award of a Ph.D. Further, some students are admitted to Ph.D. courses by the Universities without financial support from any source. To enlarge the scope, UGC decided to partially support such students by providing a stipend in the form of non-NET Fellowships. These Non-NET Fellowships have been benefitting M.Phil./Ph.D. students enrolled in various Central Universities across the country, especially the students of Universities located in the remote areas and North-Eastern regions of the country. *****