Senior Fellowship

1 Introduction

1.1 Senior Fellowships are awarded to senior Indian researchers who have made significant contribution in the field of Social Sciences through projects/ publications, including books published by reputed publishers and research papers in peer-reviewed journals with high impact factor.  The studies made by the Senior Fellows are expected to have the potential to contribute in the development of the nation by providing evidence-based solution to current and future challenges in different fields. 

1.2 The Post-Doctoral Fellowships for the Financial Year 2024-25 shall be awarded in the following areas of Social Sciences:

S.No	Broad Domains	Priority Areas
1	Economics / Development Studies	a. Innovations in Agriculture and Rural Development b. Entrepreneurship and Start-ups c. Blue Economy d. Natural Resources and Regional Development e. Sustainable Livelihood f. Green Economy Transition g. Fintech and Fintech-based Solutions for Economic Development h. Cooperatives and Rural Transformation i. Artificial Intelligence and Employment
2	Management	a. Financial Management b. Human Resource Management
3	Commerce	a. Trade and Commerce b. Rural and Urban Tourism  c. Fintech and Fintech-based Trade and Commerce
4	Sociology/Social Work	a. Artificial Intelligence: Socio Impact b. Development and Empowerment of Vulnerable Sections of Society c. Sociology of Family in India d. Food and Society e. Divyangjan Studies
5	Social Anthropology	a. Linguistic Anthropology b. Cultural Anthropology c. Ethnographic Studies
6	Culture Studies	a. Digital Humanities b.  Life, Literature and Thought in India c. Literature and Globalization d. Art Practices and Folk/Oral Forms
7	Sanskrit Studies	a. Grammatical Tradition b. Manuscript Studies c. Poetics d. Literary Traditions
8	Socio-Philosophical Studies	a. Indian Philosophical Tradition b. Comparative Ethics c. Artificial Intelligence and Ethics
9	Sociolinguistics	a. Language, Culture and Society b. Social Concepts and Theories in Indian Languages
10	Gender Studies	a. Women-Led Development b. Gender and Society
11	Health Studies	a) AYUSH & Community Medicine b) Indigenous Healing Methods and Practices c) Health of Women d) Nutrition of Children e) Sports and Fitness
12	Political Science	a. E-Governance b. G20 Declaration and Global Sustainability c. Human Rights and Legislation d. Contemporary Electoral System e. People’s Participation in Politics f. Politics and Technology
13	International Relations/ Geopolitics	a) Geo Politics b)  Indo-Pacific Strategic Relations c) India’s Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power
14	Public Administration	a. Ethical Governance b. Tribunals, Commissions and Bureaucratic System
15	Diaspora Studies	a. Role of Indian Diaspora in the Development of Bharat b. Multiculturalism
16	National Security and Strategic Studies	a. Defence and National Security b. Defence Manufacturing
17	Education	a) Digital Learning & Technology Integration b) National Education Policy: Implementation and Challenges c) Ethics, Values and Innovation in Education      d) Artificial Intelligence and Education
18	Social Psychology	a. Mental Health & Social Inclusion b. Social Dimensions of Indian Psychology
19	Legal Studies	a. Legal and Para-legal Studies b. Legal History of India
20	Social and Human Geography	a) Demography b) Migration c) Human Resource and Holistic Growth d) Regional Geography e) Rural and Urban Landscape
21	Environmental Studies	a) Human-Environment Relationship  b) Climate Change c) Sustainable Development Goals in Indian Context d) Renewable Energy Resources
22	Modern Social History	a. History and Heritage b. Memory and History c. Maritime History
23	Media Studies	a. Mass Media and its Socio-Cultural Impact b. Mass Media and Society in India
24	Library Science	a. Bibliometric/ Scientometric/ Webometric Studies b. E-Resources and IT Application c. Metadata Harvesting Techniques and Digital Repository
25	Language Studies	a. Knowledge Tradition in Indian Languages b. Application of Knowledge in the Vernacular Texts
26	Indian Knowledge Systems	a. Indian Textual and Oral Traditions b. Indigenous Innovation, Technology and Development c. Pedagogical Materials in Diverse Disciplinary/Inter-disciplinary Areas based on Indian Intellectual Texts

Research Proposals that span across disciplinary boundaries also fall within the areas of the Council’s interest.

 

2. Eligibility

2.1 The scholar should be an Indian citizen and should not be less than 45 years of age and not more than 70 years of age as on the last date of application.

2.2 The scholar must possess Ph.D. Degree and have, in the opinion of the ICSSR, the necessary competence to conduct research in social sciences or allied disciplines in addition to having outstanding research publications, including books published by reputed publishers and/or research papers in peer-reviewed journals with high impact factor, at the time of application.

2.3 A fellow must affiliate himself/herself to UGC recognized Universities / Deemed-to-be-Universities, Institutes of National Importance as defined by MoE / UGC, and ICSSR Research Institutes. Funds are disbursed through the affiliating/administering institution.

2.4 Faculties with regular service in public funded universities/colleges and research institutes getting UGC pay-scales may be considered for pay protection in exceptionally meritorious cases, which is to be decided by the Expert Committees of the ICSSR. The Expert Committees of the ICSSR also reserve the right to convert a fellowship proposal into a Project Proposal.

 

3. How to Apply

3.1 Applications will be invited through open advertisement on ICSSR website and its social media platforms.

3.2 The candidates shall submit online application. If the submission of the hard copy of the online form along with requisite documents is mandated in the Call for applications, the same must be sent to the ICSSR on or before the deadline mentioned in the advertisement. The research proposal should be submitted only in the format attached with the application form. No separate research proposal or copies of research papers are to be attached.

3.3 The Research Proposal should either be in Hindi or English (Use Unicode 8 (UTF-8) to fill the form in Hindi)

3.4 One applicant can submit only one application under Senior Fellowship scheme. However, he/she can apply separately for another scheme.

 

4. Procedure for Award

4.1 The procedure for the award of the fellowships will include evaluation and interaction/presentation of applications by the panel of subject experts in multiple phases.

4.2 The recommendations of the Expert Committee(s) are placed before the requisite Committee(s) of ICSSR for their consent / approval.

4.3 The list of selected applications will be uploaded on ICSSR website. Only the selected candidates and their affiliating universities shall be informed individually through a provisional award letter specifying the formalities and documents required for joining the fellowship.

 

5. Duration and Value

5.1 Senior Fellowship is a full-time research engagement.

5.2 The duration of fellowship shall be for two years and no extension will be considered.

5.3 The value of fellowship is Rs.45,000/- per month and contingency grant of Rs.40,000/- per annum and will be in line with the directives of the Ministry of Education from time to time.

5.4 Under Salary protection, a fellow is entitled to salary and allowances admissible as per rules and contingency grant. However, special allowances like children education allowance, medical reimbursement, LTC, etc. are not admissible from the ICSSR. The parent institution may, however, pay/reimburse the same as per its rule.

5.5 The ICSSR shall also pay the leave salary and pension contribution or contribution towards CPF and gratuity for the period for which he/she holds the ICSSR’s fellowship as per rules of the parent institution.

 

6. Joining & Release of Fellowship

6.1 The scholar has to join the fellowship within one month of the date of the award letter by submitting all required documents through the affiliating institution. This may be extended by the ICSSR in exceptional circumstances.

6.2 The fellowship will be sanctioned initially for a period of one year, effective from the date of joining of the Fellowship by the scholar. The renewal of the Fellowship for the subsequent year shall be subject to the receipt of satisfactory Annual Progress Report and Statement of Account for the fellowship released for first year.

6.3 The first-year fellowship and contingency will be released in two equal instalments. The first instalment will be released after receiving the Grant-in-Aid-Bill (GIB) and the second after receiving a satisfactory Six-Monthly Progress report in the prescribed format along with the Statement of Account.

6.4 The second-year fellowship and contingency will be released in three instalments. The first instalment of six-month fellowship will be released on receipt of the Grant-in-Aid Bill (GIB). The second instalment of 03 months fellowship will be released on receipt of a satisfactory Progress Report of next six months in the prescribed format along with the Statement of Account. The final instalment of remaining fellowship along with contingency will be released after receiving the final report and its acceptance by the ICSSR and Statement of Accounts with Utilization Certificate in GFR-12A Form of the entire sanctioned amount of fellowship duly signed by the competent authority of the affiliating institution. However, in case of non-public funded institution, the final instalment of fellowship will be released on receipt of the Audited Statement of Accounts with Utilization Certificate in GFR-12A Form and verification of the documents by the ICSSR.

6.5 The 7.5% overhead charges to the public funded affiliating institution will be released only after the submission of the Audited Statement of Accounts with Utilization Certificate in GFR-12A Form and verification of the documents by the ICSSR.

6.6 The accounts and utilization certificate will be signed by the Finance Officer/Registrar/Director in case the accounts of the Institution are audited by the CAG/AG. Otherwise, they need to be signed, both by the competent authority of the affiliating institution along with a Chartered Accountant.

6.7 In case of salary protection during the fellowship, the leave salary and pension contribution or contribution towards CPF and gratuity, will be released only after the completion of fellowship in all respects and on receipt of due & drawn statement from the parent organization and verification by the ICSSR. In case the employee comes under the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the employer’s contribution will be released along with the salary.

 

7. Monitoring of Fellowship

7.1 Regular monitoring of Fellowship is done on the basis of Six Monthly and Annual Progress Reports in the prescribed formats submitted by the scholar. In cases of delayed Progress Reports, the scholar may be asked to give the justification of the delay on which the final decision shall be taken by the ICSSR. The scholar may be asked to furnish an Undertaking specifying the date of final report submission to the ICSSR.

7.2 The fellowship may be discontinued if research undertaken by the fellow is found to be unsatisfactory or any rules of the ICSSR are violated.

7.3 The ICSSR may ask for annual presentation/mid-term appraisal of the research work.

7.4 During the course of the fellowship, the scholar is required to publish at least two research papers peer-reviewed research journals or edited books on the theme of the research undertaken.

7.5 The scholars should give due acknowledgement to ICSSR while getting their research papers published.

 

8. Completion of Fellowship

8.1 If a fellow leaves the fellowship within one year, he/she has to submit a detailed progress report of the work done during that period ensuring the final settlement of account by the affiliating institution up to the period of the fellowship. However, if a fellow leaves the fellowship after one year, he/she may be asked to submit the final report on completion of the duration of fellowship without claiming fellowship of the remaining period. If a candidate leaves the fellowship without completion, he/she will have to refund the entire amount of fellowship to the ICSSR within three months of end of fellowship duration.

The scholar is expected to submit the final report within three months after completion of the duration of the fellowship. However, extension for submission of final report may be granted on justified reasons without any additional financial commitment of the ICSSR.

In case the fellow submits the final report late directly after missing submission of periodic progress reports, the ICSSR will decide on accepting the final report and releasing the balance amount of fellowship.

8.2 On completion of the fellowship tenure, the scholar shall submit the following:

a. A book-length final report along-with a Summary of the report (3000-4000 words) and two published research papers published in peer-reviewed research journals on the theme of the research undertaken

b. These documents should be submitted in hard copy (two copies of final report and two copies each of the Summary and research articles) and a soft copy.

8.3 Every final report needs to be checked for plagiarism before submission. Fellows are required to get their final report checked from the affiliating institution for Similarity Index and attach a report of the same at the time of submission. As a policy, ICSSR does not accept similar contents beyond 10 percent on Similarity Index.

 

9 Expectations from the Affiliating Institution

9.1 The affiliating institution is required to provide the requisite research infrastructure to the scholar and maintain proper accounts. For this, the Council shall pay overhead charges of seven and a half percent (7.5%) of the total Fellowship (fellowship amount plus contingency) to the affiliating institution.

9.2 The affiliating institution is required to give an undertaking in the prescribed format contained in the Application Form to administer and manage the ICSSR fellowship.

9.3 The affiliating institution shall maintain a dedicated bank account for ICSSR grant (Scheme Code-0877) that is duly registered at PFMS portal for release of the Fellowship Grant.

9.4 The affiliating institution will be under obligation to ensure submission of the final report and an Audited Statement of Accounts and Utilization Certificate, (in the prescribed Performa GFR 12-A) duly certified by the Competent authority of the institution.

9.5 In case a scholar leaves /discontinues his fellowship after one year, he/she will have to refund the entire amount of fellowship to the ICSSR within three months of end of fellowship duration. This clause is not applicable in cases of death. In such cases, the affiliating institution has to submit death certificate to the ICSSR and provide requisite documents to settle the accounts, including the refund of any unspent balance within three months.

9.6 The affiliating institution shall make suitable arrangements for preservation of data such as filled-in schedules, tabulation sheets, manuscripts, reports, etc. relating to the study.

9.7 The ICSSR reserves the right to demand raw data, or such part of it as may be specified, to be transferred to the ICSSR.

9.8 The overhead charges shall be paid only after the completion of the fellowship and on receipt of the final audited Statement of Accounts and Utilization Certificate.

 

10 Other Conditions

10.1 The applicants seeking salary protection should have been in regular service for at least two years in an academic institution. The institution shall certify that it will maintain their lien on the post during the period of fellowship and allow them to return after the fellowship period.

10.2 The contingency grant may be utilized for research and office assistance, books, stationery, computer related costs, research assistance and the field work expenses related with the research work.

10.3 The Copyright of the manuscript will rest with the ICSSR. The ICSSR reserves all rights to publish the fellowship report funded by it, provided the work is recommended for publication by Expert/Experts. The scholars can get it published themselves only after seeking permission from ICSSR.

10.4 The scholar shall acknowledge ICSSR’s support in all publications resulting from the research output of the fellowship.

10.5 All fellowships are subject to income tax deductions as per the Government of India rules at the level of the affiliating/ administering institution.

10.6 Defaulters of any previous fellowship/project/grant of the ICSSR will not be eligible for consideration.

10.7 A fellow is not entitled for the same fellowship or pay protection more than once.

10.8 The research proposal/final report of the fellowship cannot be submitted for the award of any University degree/diploma or funding by any institution. The ICSSR however, will have no objection if the scholar utilizes the research data for research purpose.

10.9 The change of the affiliating institution will be considered only in exceptional circumstances to be decided by the ICSSR. Transfer of fellowship to another affiliating institution will be further subject to submission of the following documents:

(1) Satisfactory progress report;

(2) No objection certificate from both previous and the proposed university/institute;

(3) Audited statement of account and utilization certificate along with unspent balance, if any.

In case of change of affiliating institution, the time lost will be treated as without fellowship. The remaining period of fellowship will be counted w.e.f. the date of joining at the new affiliating institution. However, the total duration of the fellowship will remain for 24 months.

10.10 A gap of minimum 02 years is required from submission of Final Report of Post-Doctoral Fellowship/ Research Project/ Programme of the ICSSR and application of Senior Fellowship.

10.11 While accepting any fellowship from the ICSSR, a fellow should not accept any other fellowship or research project or regular assignment from any other institution.

10.12 During the tenure of fellowship, the fellow will be governed by the rules of the affiliating institution in all matters including drawals of TA/DA, holidays/leave and contingency grant, etc. However, the duration and amount of fellowship will not exceed twenty-four months.

10.13 The selected fellows are expected to do full time research in India. They could, however, undertake data collection outside India in exceptional cases and if warranted by the needs of the proposal. For this they are required to apply separately for consideration under the Data Collection Scheme of the International Collaboration Division. However, ICSSR will not be bound to support such data collection from abroad and the decision of the ICSSR will be final in this regard. In either case, the completion of study should not be consequent upon such data collection support.

10.14 The scholar should not have been subjected to any disciplinary/legal action/proceedings/financial penalties in his/her career/ research career.

10.15 The final report submitted by the scholar will be considered satisfactory, only after its evaluation by the ICSSR.

10.16 Books/periodicals/equipment purchased by the scholar out of the contingency grant should be deposited with the affiliating institution.

10.17 Application submitted against one Call will not be considered for the subsequent Calls.

10.18 The Council reserves the right to reject any application. It is also not responsible for any postal loss/delays in communication.

10.19 Incomplete applications in any respect shall not be considered for fellowship.

10.20 Research proposal/final report submitted for fellowship should not be under consideration for funding/ award of the degree by any University/ Institution.

10.21 The final authority related to the interpretation of the guidelines or any issue left is vested with the ICSSR.

10.20 Those who have completed their duration of fellowship may use the prefix ‘Former’ and suffix ‘the duration’ with the name of the fellowship e.g. Former National/Senior/Post-Doctoral Fellow ICSSR (20xx-xx).

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