Maharashtra government to issue PhD fellowship ads within 10 days following student protest

Following complaints regarding delay in disbursal of PhD fellowships, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde ordered that the advertisements inviting applications be issued within 10 days.

The higher and technical education department has formed a committee to determine the guidelines for granting fellowships and scholarships offered by autonomous institutions like Barti, TRTI, Sarathi, Mahajyoti, Amrut, Arti in the state. The deputy CM sought the committee’s report and fellowship advertisement post that.

Taking cognisance of the agitation by the students as the advertisement for PhD fellowships in these autonomous institutions has not been published for the last two and a half years, Shinde gave the directions during a meeting.

Students expressed concerns that PhD scholars are not receiving scholarships and fellowships. Responding to this, the deputy CM said that the higher and technical education department is preparing guidelines for the selection of subjects for PhD under the chairmanship of the vice-chancellor of Mumbai University. After receiving its report, the advertisement will be published in the next ten days, he assured.

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Meanwhile, Shinde emphasised the need to evaluate the research of PhD students through a monitoring mechanism. Stating that it is necessary to study how the state has benefited from the research done by the students, he also appealed to the students to conduct research in the areas of climate change and agriculture based on it, pollution, artificial intelligence, pesticide-free farming, varieties that thrive even in unseasonal rains, etc., and to conduct research that will be a boon for the farmers of the state.