14 BHU researchers awarded Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship

NEW DELHI : 14 research scholars of Banaras Hindu University have been awarded the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship. The students belong to the departments of geology, chemistry, biochemistry, botany, bioinformatics, and the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development.

The researchers who have been selected for the current cycle of PMRF are Bandan Kumar, Aindabi Maitra, Kuhoo Madhav, R B Ananth, Raju Rai, and Sudipa Bhunia from the geology department; Deepika Sharma, Karmdeo Prajapati, Nikhil Srivastav, and Ritesh Tolani from the chemistry department; Ankita Gupta from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development; Garima Kandwal from the biochemistry department, Prashasti Pandey from the botany department; and Syona Tiwari from the department of bioinformatics.

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As part of the scheme, the students will receive a fellowship amount and a research contingency grant. The fellowship amount for the first two years is Rs 70,000 per month, followed by Rs 75,000 per month for the third year and Rs 80,000 per month in fourth and fifth years. During the course of the fellowship, researchers are also eligible to get a research contingency grant of Rs 2 lakh per annum. The candidates are selected through a rigorous selection process carried out at the national level, the university said.

Congratulating the research scholars on the achievement, BHU vice-chancellor professor Sudhir Kumar Jain said the university is making remarkable progress in opening up new avenues of growth and excellence for its students and researchers.

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“We have made effective several procedural and structural changes to enable greater representation of BHU in milestone schemes and fellowships. The increased number of PMRF to BHU scholars is reflective of the varsity’s forward looking measures. We hope to further improve our performance in the days to come”, he said.

Professor Mousumi Mutsuddi, department of molecular and human genetics, and coordinator of PMRF in BHU informed that modification in coursework syllabus and timely declaration of results has aided in the whole process. The massive jump from 4 to 14 PMRF awards is indeed a moment of pride and happiness for the university fraternity, she added.