The University Grants Commission (UGC) of India, is the body established under the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India. The body has the responsibility to look into the higher education system of India. The UGC looks into the recognition of Universities in India, the standard of education imparted in these universities and distribution of relevant funds to the universities.
The University Grants Commission is also responsible for giving out scholarships and other such fellowships. One can find all the scholarships and fellowships imparted by the UGC on its official website. These scholarships are given out by the UGC to the eligible candidates belonging to a university recognised by it.
It was only a few months back, in the month of June 2019, that the UGC had increased the fellowship amount for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) in Social Sciences, Humanities and Science. The increase made were as follows –
- The JRF fellowship amount was increased from Rs 25,000/- to Rs 31,000/- per month
- The SRF fellowship amount was increased from Rs 28,000/- to Rs 35,000/- per month.
The HRA provided for these fellowships will be 8%, 16% or 24% depending on the government regulations in the state from where the research fellow is conducting their research. This revised changes will be applicable from 1st January 2020.
It is only a few months after this announcement that the UGC has now declared an increase in the fellowship amount for three more scholarships. The scholarships in which the increase is being made is as follows –
- National Fellowship for Scheduled Castes (NFSC)
- National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC)
- Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF)
These changes have been brought about by the University Grants Commission in association with other ministries of the government of India, such as the Ministry of Social Justice And Empowerment and the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The notification of increase in the fellowship amount was announced by the University Grants Commission on 7th November 2019.
This initiative is an attempt to amalgamate the minority sections with the larger society and give them an opportunity to rise up and achieve good education irrespective of their economic or other weaknesses. Students can check out more details about these scholarships on the official website of the University Grants Commission of India, which is https://www.ugc.ac.in/