National Renewable Energy Fellowship Scheme of the Human Resource Development Programme in New and Renewable Energy

The objective of the "National Renewable Energy Fellowship Scheme" Component of the Human Resource Development Programme in New and Renewable Energy, Human Resources Development Division, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is to institutionalize renewable energy education and training to meet the requirement of qualified and trained manpower in the country. The HRD Programme has been with a total financial outlay of Rs. 200 crore for the period of FY 2021-22 to 2025-26.

The "National Renewable Energy Fellowship Scheme" comes under the "Fellowships for Higher Studies and Research in Renewable Energy" Component of the Programme. Through this scheme, fellowships will be provided for pursuing higher studies/ advanced research in renewable energy. The fellowship scheme is directly aligned with the overall requirement of renewable energy, research thrust areas identified by MNRE, identification of technology readiness levels and focus on commercialization. The technology areas will not be of a generic nature but should involve frontier-edge research in technology development with a focused approach.

Number of Fellowships

150 new fellowships/scholarships in the field of renewable energy every year in addition to existing fellowships awarded since 2017-21 (which will continue till their entire tenure). The total number of fellowships to be supported during the period is given below:

Course: M.Tech.
Duration of Course/ Fellowship/ Scholarship (Years): 2
Intake Every Year: 35
For Five Years: 175
Fellowship (1st Year, 2021-22): 35
Fellowship (2nd Year, 2022-23): 35+35
Fellowship (3rd Year, 2023-24): 35+35
Fellowship (4th Year, 2024-25): 35+35
Fellowship (5th Year, 2025-26): 35+35

Course: M.Sc.
Duration of Course/ Fellowship/ Scholarship (Years): 2
Intake Every Year: 10
For Five Years: 50
Fellowship (1st Year, 2021-22): 10
Fellowship (2nd Year, 2022-23): 10+10
Fellowship (3rd Year, 2023-24): 10+10
Fellowship (4th Year, 2024-25): 10+10
Fellowship (5th Year, 2025-26): 10+10

NOTE: The fellowship provided/sanctioned for M.Tech / M.Sc (2 yr course) during a given year will comprise the number sanctioned during that year plus the continued from the previous year. For example, in M. Tech (2-year course), if fellowship in the year 2022-23 is sanctioned x no and from the previous year 2021-22 y no. has continued, so total fellowship during 2022-23 would be X+Y. The fellowship duration of the course for a student should not exceed 2 yrs.

Course: JRF
Duration of Course/ Fellowship/ Scholarship (Years): 2+3
Intake Every Year: 20
For Five Years: 100
Fellowship (1st Year, 2021-22): 20
Fellowship (2nd Year, 2022-23): 40
Fellowship (3rd Year, 2023-24): 60
Fellowship (4th Year, 2024-25): 80
Fellowship (5th Year, 2025-26): 100

NOTE: JRF will lead to PHD degree (2 yrs JRF+ 3 yrs SRF) not exceeding 5 yrs. Therefore, fellowship would be provided to a student, who enters at JRF level and completes the course up to PHD i.e. maximum of 5 yrs (2 yrs for JRF +3 yrs for SRF).

Course: SRF
Duration of Course/ Fellowship/ Scholarship (Years): 3
Intake Every Year: 5
For Five Years: 25
Fellowship (1st Year, 2021-22): 5
Fellowship (2nd Year, 2022-23): 10
Fellowship (3rd Year, 2023-24): 15
Fellowship (4th Year, 2024-25): 15
Fellowship (5th Year, 2025-26): 15

NOTE: This is a direct route for considering fellowship at the entry-level SRF for attaining a PhD not exceeding 3 yrs.

Course: RA/PDF
Duration of Course/ Fellowship/ Scholarship (Years): 3
Intake Every Year: 5
For Five Years: 25
Fellowship (1st Year, 2021-22): 5
Fellowship (2nd Year, 2022-23): 10
Fellowship (3rd Year, 2023-24): 15
Fellowship (4th Year, 2024-25): 15
Fellowship (5th Year, 2025-26): 15

NOTE: RA/PDF is post-doctoral 3-year research.

TOTAL
Intake Every Year: 75
For Five Years: 375
Fellowship (1st Year, 2021-22): 75
Fellowship (2nd Year, 2022-23): 150
Fellowship (3rd Year, 2023-24): 180
Fellowship (4th Year, 2024-25): 200
Fellowship (5th Year, 2025-26): 220

NOTE 1: Liability for fellowships sanctioned from 2022-23 onwards will spill over beyond the scheme period as per their fellowship duration.
NOTE 2: The principle of providing fellowships would be the same in each category.
NOTE 3: The number of fellowships in each of the categories above is interchangeable which will depend on no. of applications received quality of research work proposed demand from the Industry etc.

Funding Pattern

JRF (Junior Research Fellow)

Fellowship: ₹31,000 per month
HRA (House Rent Allowance): As per Central Government Norms
Contingency: ₹20,000 per annum
Duration: 2 Years

SRF (Senior Research Fellow)

Fellowship: ₹35,000 per month
HRA: As per Central Government Norms
Contingency: As per Central Government Norms
Duration: 3 Years

PDF/RA (Post-Doctoral Fellow/Research Associate)

I - Fellowship: ₹47,000 per month
II - Fellowship: ₹49,000 per month
III - Fellowship: ₹54,000 per month
HRA: As per Central Government Norms
Contingency: As per Central Government Norms
Duration: 3 Years

Master of Technology (M.Tech) and Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Fellowship: ₹12,400 per month
HRA: Not Applicable
Contingency: Not Applicable
Duration: 20-24 Months (as per Institute Norms)

M.Sc (Renewable Energy)

Fellowship: ₹4,000 per month
HRA: Not Applicable
Contingency: Not Applicable
Duration: 24 Months (as per Institute Norms)

NOTE: These fellowship rates are subject to revision according to the guidelines set by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Payment Schedule

These fellowships will come into effect from the Date of Joining of the candidates. The Institute/University will keep the Ministry appraised about their selection process.

Mode of Disbursal

Fellowships will be disbursed on a monthly basis through beneficiary Bank Accounts. Monthly disbursement of fellowship will be done by the ministry through DBT mode on receipt of continuation/ attendance from the host institutions.

Eligibility Criteria for the Applicant

1. The applicant should be pursuing higher studies in renewable energy viz. M.Sc, M. Tech, PhD in Renewable Energy technologies OR The applicant should be a Research Associate or post-doctoral Fellow pursuing advanced research in MNRE institutions and other key institutions.1. These Fellowships will exclusively be awarded for Courses on Renewable Energy related subjects only.
2. These Institutions will select the students for M.Tech /Ph.D. courses through GATE Score or CSIR Score or CSIR-JRF /AICTE/NET Qualified Score Only.
3. M.Sc fellowships will be provided to only to students pursuing an M.Sc in renewable energy qualified with NET.

NOTE 1: The Ministry would be guided by the norms of CSIR/DST/UGC for eligibility of the candidates for JRF/SRF/RA/PDF.
NOTE 2: The Ministry would be guided by the AICTE guidelines for M.Tech and Department of Biotechnology norms for M.Sc in renewable energy.

Eligibility Criteria for the Institute

1. Only those institutes will be considered for the allocation of fellowship slots that are in the Top 100 institutes under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), faculty for required expertise in relevant areas of RE and infrastructure facilities available at such institutes for RE education and research in RE etc.
2. The scheme is open for Universities, Technical Institutions, National Laboratories having facilities for research in the identified thrust areas of RE, and institutes having M.Tech./ Integrated M.Sc. courses in energy studies/ renewable energy with specialization in any branch of renewable energy.

Offline

Call for Applications

1. MNRE will publish advertisements on an annual basis inviting applications from interested universities/institutes for fellowships for higher education and research in renewable energy-identified thrust areas.
2. Institutes/universities engaged in renewable energy education and research may apply for allocation of fellowship slots against advertisement to the Ministry.

Selection Process for the Institutes

The institutes will be selected by a committee chaired by eminent scientists/professors, two experts of the rank of professors from reputed academic institutions, DG, NISE, NIWE and NIBE, Group Head, and HRD as members. Scientist-in-charge, HRD will act as convener.

Selection Process for the Candidates

1. The selected institutes will forward the details of NREF fellows selected by their Research /administrative committees in accordance with the eligibility criteria.
2. The Institutes selected for the fellowship slots will forward the details of the students every year against the sanctioned no. of fellowships to that Institute.
3. The ministry will award the fellowships based on their eligibility by names of the students/candidates.

1. Passport Sized Photograph
2. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
3. Proof of Indian Citizenship
4. Aadhaar Card
5. Academic Transcripts From All Undergraduate and Postgraduate Degrees
6. Research Proposal
7. Two Letters of Recommendation

In addition to the above documents, applicants may also be required to submit the following, depending on their category:

1. SC/ST/OBC Certificate (if Applicable)
2. PwD Certificate (if Applicable)
3. Income Certificate (if Applicable)