Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme for Electronics and IT: Full Time PhD Candidates

Description
The & 39;Full Time PhD Candidate& 39; is a component of the scheme “Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme for Electronics and IT”, implemented by the Digital India Corporation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. It is an institutional scheme, where PhD seats are allocated to the institutions and the institutions enroll PhD candidates on these seats following their admission procedures. Objectives: - To enhance the number of PhDs in Electronics System Design & Manufacturing ESDM and IT/IT Enabled Services IT/ITES sectors in the country. - Give thrust to R&D, create an innovative ecosystem and enhance India’s competitiveness in these knowledge intensive sectors. Salient Features: - 1000 Full Time PhD seats in the areas of ESDM & IT/ITES - One time support for selected 250 Full-time PhD candidates 50 candidates/year for 6 months Visit to Labs Abroad - Support for International Conference up to Rs. 1.50 Lakh/ per Full Time PhD once under the support tenure - Contingency Research Grant @ Rs. 1.20 Lakh/ year per Full Time PhD

Benefits
• [***Financial Support for Full-time PhD candidates***](https://phd.dic.gov.in/guidelines/SOPFullTime.pdf)***:***
• **Fellowship:** ₹38,750/- per month in 1st & 2nd year and @₹43,750/- per month in 3rd, 4th and 5th years of PhD. (support till PhD completion or 5 years whichever is earlier). 1. **Reimbursement of Rent (RoR):** This component is linked with the fellowship of a PhD Candidate. The rate of RoR is 24%, 16% & 8% (of fellowship) for X, Y & Z class cities/towns respectively. 1. **Institutional Overheads:** An amount of ₹25,000/Year/Full-time PhD candidate for support duration of PhD candidate to be given to the institution. The institutional overhead will be released after completion of required tenure by the respective candidate on pro-rata basis. 1. **Research Contingency Grant Support:** An amount of ₹1,20,000/Year/Full-time PhD candidate for support duration of the PhD candidate. 1. **Support to attend selected International Conferences** up to ₹1.5 Lakh per Full Time PhD candidate from 3rd year. 1. **One time support for selected 250 Full Time PhD candidates from 3rd year for 6 months “Visit to Labs Abroad”.** The support would be available to the selected Full Time PhD candidates with following guidelines:
• During the visit, the Monthly Fellowship will be ₹1.50 Lakh.
• The Travel/Visa expenses up to ₹1.50 Lakh is provided.
• During this period, the domestic Fellowship and Reimbursement of Rent (RoR) will be suspended.
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Eligibility Criteria
1. Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme is an institutional scheme wherein eligible institutions submit proposals requesting Full Time PhD seats against an active call for proposal by Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme, DIC, MeitY.
2. The call for proposal for Full Time PhDseats is notified by PhD Cell, DIC; MeitY through the web portal https://phd.dic.gov.in/
3. Proposals for allotment of Full Time PhD seats are to be submitted by eligible institutions only. Suitable number of seats would be allotted to institutions for further enrollment of Full Time PhD fellows on these seats following the scheme guidelines.
4. The institutions with PhD seats, allotted under the scheme, would conduct their admission process for enrolment of candidates on those seats.
5. **** Only the candidates enrolled/registered for PhD during the period of the scheme would be eligible to apply for the financial support. This scheme will be applicable for new PhD Scholars after notification of the scheme
6. Candidates already availing financial support from other government schemes are not eligible.
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8. ***Terms and Conditions for support***
9. The support will be for additional PhD candidates taken up by an institution. No support would be provided for current levels of enrolment in the PhD programme at the institutions. Transfer from other scholarship schemes would not be permitted.
10. Only the candidates enrolled/registered for PhD during the period of the scheme would be eligible to apply for the financial support. This scheme will be applicable for new PhD Scholars after notification of the scheme.
11. The candidate would be eligible for Fellowship for the period during which the candidate is in good standing, and fulfills the requirements of the PhD successfully. The maximum period for which the support would be available for any Full-time candidate would be five years or till the completion of PhD whichever is earlier.
12. The participating Institution will ensure that a candidate receiving fellowship under this scheme is not receiving any financial support for PhD from any other scheme of Government of India/States etc. at the same time, The candidates who have availed support for their PhD from any other scheme of Government of India/States etc. will be automatically be disqualified for support under this scheme.
13. The PhD seats allotted for a particular year should be utilized in the same academic year only as per the prescribed timelines. The unfilled seats would be automatically pulled back to the general pool of the scheme.
14. The institutions, in the event of any drop-out, need to report it to PhD Cell/DIC immediately. The institutions cannot enroll a substitute candidate on their own.
15. The institution will be responsible for furnishing utilization certificates of the funds released to them based on the scheme parameters, and as per conditions of the sanctioned grant-in- aid.
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Required Documents
• Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme is an institutional scheme wherein eligible institutions submit proposals requesting Full-time PhD seats against an active call for proposal by Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme, DIC, MeitY.
• The call for proposal for Full-time PhD seats will be notified by PhD Cell, DIC; MeitY through the web portal https://phd.dic.gov.in/
• Proposals for allotment of Full-time PhD seats are to be submitted by eligible institutions only. Suitable number of seats would be allotted to institutions for further enrollment of Full-time PhD fellows on these seats following the scheme guidelines.
• Accordingly, the applicants may contact their respective institutions for documents and other formalities.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What was the rationale behind initiation of the scheme?
A: In addition to enhancement of the number of PhDs in Electronics System Design &amp; Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/IT Enabled Services (IT/ITES) sectors in the country the scheme aims to:

- Give thrust to R&amp;D, create an innovative ecosystem and enhance India’s competitiveness in these knowledge intensive sectors.
- Thrust on significantly increasing the number of PhDs in the country to enable India to compete globally in the coming decades, to develop an ecosystem of research, development and IP creation in these knowledge intensive sectors.

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Q: How many PhD candidates will the scheme support?
A: The scheme aims to support 1000 full-time PhD candidates.
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Q: Which institutions are eligible to participate in the scheme?
A: Please refer to [https://phd.dic.gov.in/eligibility](https://phd.dic.gov.in/eligibility) for eligibility.
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Q: What are the eligibility criteria for PhD candidates?
A: Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme is an institutional scheme wherein eligible institutions submit proposals requesting Full-time PhD seats against an active call for proposal by Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme, DIC, MeitY.

- The call for proposal for Full-time PhD seats is notified by PhD Cell, DIC; MeitY through the web portal https://phd.dic.gov.in/
- Proposals for allotment of Full-time PhD seats are to be submitted by eligible institutions only. Suitable number of seats would be allotted to institutions for further enrollment of PDF fellows on these seats following the scheme guidelines.


- The institutions with PhD seats, allotted under the scheme, would conduct their admission process for enrolment of candidates on those seats.
- The support will be for additional PhD candidates taken up by an institution. No support would be provided for current levels of enrolment in the PhD programme at the institutions. Transfer from other scholarship schemes would not be permitted.
- Candidates already availing financial support from other government schemes are not eligible.


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Q: Can a candidate apply for this scheme if they have already started their PhD?
A: No, the scheme applies only to new PhD scholars enrolled after the PhD seats are allocated to the eligible institutions.
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Q: How are institutions allotted seats?
A: Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme is an institutional scheme wherein eligible institutions submit proposals requesting Full-time PhD seats against an active call for proposal by Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme, DIC, MeitY.

- The call for proposal for Full-time PhD seats is notified by PhD Cell, DIC; MeitY through the web portal https://phd.dic.gov.in/
- Proposals for allotment of Full-time PhD seats are to be submitted by eligible institutions only. Suitable number of seats would be allotted to institutions for further enrollment of PDF fellows on these seats following the scheme guidelines and evaluation of the submitted proposals.


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Q: What is the procedure for joining the PhD Scheme?
A: Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme is an institutional scheme where seats are allocated to eligible institutions for enrolment during particular academic year. The candidates, interested to join the scheme, need to contact respective institutions for admission formalities.
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Q: What financial support is available for full-time PhD candidates?
A: 1. Fellowship

- ₹38,750/- per month (1st &amp;amp; 2nd year)
- ₹43,750/- per month (3rd, 4th &amp;amp; 5th year)

2. Reimbursement of Rent (RoR)
3. Institutional Overheads of ₹25,000 per year per Full-time PhD candidate.
4. Research contingency grant of ₹1,20,000 per year per Full-time PhD candidate.
5. Support up to ₹1.5 lakh for attending International Conferences.
6. One-time support of ₹10.5 lakh for 250 selected PhD candidates for a 6-month visit to labs abroad.
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Q: How will the funds be disbursed?
A: - Fellowships and RoR will be transferred directly to candidates&amp;#39; bank accounts
- Institutional Overheads and Research Contingency Grants will be sent to the respective institutions.

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Q: What is meant by Reimbursement of Rent (RoR)?
A: This component is linked with the fellowship of PhD Candidate. The rate of RoR is 24%, 16% &amp;amp; 8% (of fellowship) for X, Y &amp;amp; Z class cities/towns respectively. The classification of the cities is as per the notification issued by the Ministry of Finance for HRA.
RoR the support is applicable to only those PhD candidates who are not availing hostel facility by the institution.
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Q: What happens if a candidate drops out from the scheme?
A: The institution has to immediately inform the PhD Cell, DIC and obtain an acknowledgement from PhD Cell. If not reported on time, the institution will be responsible for recovering any excess funds paid to the candidate.
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Q: Can an institution transfer its PhD seats to another year if not filled?
A: No, unfilled seats will be reallocated to the general pool and assigned to other institutions.
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Q: Can the fellowship be extended beyond five years?
A: No, the maximum duration of support is five years or until PhD completion, whichever is earlier.
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Q: Is there any funding for laboratory equipment under the research contingency grant?
A: Yes, institutions can apply for funding for research equipment under Research Contingency Grant, but civil construction/expansion costs are not covered.
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Q: What is included under support for International Conference?
A: This covers the travel and other expenses of a PhD candidate for attending an International conference, where the research paper has been accepted for oral (not poster) presentation. There is a list of renowned International Conferences related to the areas of ESDM and IT/ITES where the candidate can visit ([https://phd.dic.gov.in/about/ListOfInternationalConferences.pdf](https://phd.dic.gov.in/about/ListOfInternationalConferences.pdf))
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