HRD to seek fellowship refund from IIT scholars if they leave midway

Selected PhD fellows at the IITs will receive Rs 75,000 per month under the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship but will have to return the entire amount if they leave the course midway.

The proposed fellowship, having the refund clause, will be awarded to those who wish to seek admission in PhD courses directly after their BTech programme. The scheme by the HRD ministry, however, is yet to get the Cabinet's nod.

At present, there are 25,000 scholars enrolled in different PhD programmes in the IITs and those opting for doctoral degree directly after completing their masters get Rs 25,000 per month. "To improve the quality of research, more students need to be encouraged to register for direct PhD programme after completing their BTech courses. Therefore, a lucrative scheme has been devised where students will get an amount as good as salaries paid by the MNCs," an HRD ministry official said.

"However, to ensure that the students don't use the opportunity as a stop over arrangement, a refund clause has been inserted," the official said.

The fellowship was approved last year by the IIT Council, the highest decision making body for the institutions, headed by HRD minister Prakash Javadekar.

The first batch of the fellowship programme is likely to start from this academic year and 1,000 fellows will be inducted into it.