Lok Sabha Question No. 1171 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-14
Subject: Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Umesh G. Jadhav, Prathap Simha, L.S. Tejasvi Surya, Sanganna Amarappa Karadi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1171

TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.12.2022

## VISVESVARAYA PhD SCHEME

## 1171. DR. UMESH G JADHAV; SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA; SHRI L. S. TEJASVI SURYA; SHRI SANGANNA AMRAPPA;

## SHRI SHA.BRA.DR.JAI SIDDESHWAR SHIVACHARYA MAHASWAMIJI;

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  of  the  support  provided  by  the  Government  under  the  Visvesvaraya  PhD Scheme.

(b)  the  State  /  UT-wise  beneficiaries  of  the  Visvesvaraya  PhD  Scheme  in  Phase-1  and Phase-2

(c)  the details of the scheme format, procedure and selection criteria for the scholarships (d) whether the Government intends to expand the scheme to cover more scholars. If so, the details thereof.

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a): Visvesvaraya PhD scheme has been initiated by the Government with an objective of enhancing  the  number  of  PhDs  in  the  country  to  compete  globally  in  the  knowledge intensive  sectors  of  Electronics  System  Design  and  Manufacturing  (ESDM)  and  IT/IT Enabled Services (IT/ITES). Under the scheme, financial support is provided to Full-time &  Part-time  PhD  candidates  and  Young  Faculty  who  are  undertaking  research  and technology development. The Scheme also provides infrastructure support to institutions. Details  of  the  financial  support  under  the  Visvesvaraya  PhD  Scheme  are  given  at Annexure-1.

(b): Based  on  the  seats  allocated  to  various  institutions  in  the  States,  State-wise beneficiaries of the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme under Phase-I and Phase-II of the scheme are placed at Annexure-2.

(c): Under the scheme, proposals are invited from the eligible institutions for allocation of PhD  seats.  The  proposals  are  considered  by  the  Academic  Committee  constituted  by MeitY for the purpose of the scheme. The PhD seats are allocated to the institutions. The institutions enroll the PhD candidates for the allocated seats for ESDM/IT/ITES sectors. The details are placed at Annexure-3.

(d): Under the Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme: Phase-I, a total of 1423 PhD candidates have been supported. With the objective of covering more scholars, Phase- II of Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme has been initiated for a duration of 9 years to support 1000 Full-time PhD candidates,  150  Part-time  PhD  candidates,  50  Young  Faculty  Research  Fellowships  and 225 Post-Doctoral Fellowships. Out of the 1000 Full-time PhD seats, 200 Full-time PhD seats have already been allocated to 70 institutions across the country for the first year i.e. academic year 2022-23.

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## Details of Financial Support

## Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme: Phase-I (2014-2023)

## a) For Full Time PhD Candidates:

-  Fellowship: ₹ 38,750/- per month (I & II year); ₹ 43,750/- (III to V year)
-  Annual Contingency Grant support: ₹ 30,000/- per year
-  Reimbursement of Rent as per GoI rules
-  Support for international conferences up to ₹ 50,000/-

## b)For Part Time PhD Candidates:

-  One time incentive of ₹ 2,50,000/- after completion of PhD

## c)For  Young  Faculty  Research  Fellows  undertaking  research  and  technology development:

-  Fellowship @ ₹ 20,000/- per month
-  Research Contingency Grant of ₹ 5,00,000/- per year for a maximum period of 5 years

## d) Support to the Institution registering PhD candidates under the scheme:

-  Research Infrastructural Grant of up to ₹ 5,00,000/- per candidate
-  Institutional Overheads: ₹ 25,000/- per annum / Full-time candidate

## Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme: Phase-II(2021-2030)

## a) For Full Time PhD Candidates:

-  Fellowship: ₹ 38,750/- per month (I & II year); ₹ 43,750/- (III to V year)
-  Reimbursement of Rent as per GoI rules
-  Research Contingency Grant @ ₹ 1,20,000/- per year per Full-time candidate to the institutions registering PhD candidates under the scheme
-  Support  for  International  Conference  up  to  ₹  1,50,000/-  to  the  institutions registering PhD candidates under the scheme

## b) For Part Time PhD Candidates:

-  One time incentive of ₹ 3,00,000/- after completion of PhD
- c) For Young Faculty Research Fellows
-  Fellowship @ ₹ 20,000/- per month
-  Research Contingency Grant of ₹ 5,00,000/- per year for a maximum period of 5 years

## d) Support to the Institution registering PhD candidates under the scheme:

-  Institutional Overheads: ₹ 25,000/- per annum / Full-time candidate

| Sr. No.   | State/Union Territory   |   Full-time PhD Candidates |   Part-time PhD Candidates |   Total |
|-----------|-------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|---------|
| 1.        | Andhra Pradesh          |                         10 |                         20 |      30 |
| 2.        | Arunachal Pradesh       |                         11 |                          8 |      19 |
| 3.        | Assam                   |                         49 |                         19 |      68 |
| 4.        | Bihar                   |                         54 |                          6 |      60 |
| 5.        | Chandigarh              |                         11 |                          5 |      16 |
| 6.        | Delhi                   |                        139 |                         68 |     207 |
| 7.        | Goa                     |                         13 |                          2 |      15 |
| 8.        | Gujarat                 |                         25 |                         14 |      39 |
| 9.        | Haryana                 |                          8 |                          0 |      08 |
| 10.       | Himachal Pradesh        |                         27 |                          1 |      28 |
| 11.       | Jammuand Kashmir        |                          5 |                          1 |      06 |
| 12.       | Jharkhand               |                          3 |                          2 |      05 |
| 13.       | Karnataka               |                         97 |                          0 |      97 |
| 14.       | Kerala                  |                          9 |                          0 |      09 |
| 15.       | Madhya Pradesh          |                         43 |                          1 |      44 |
| 16.       | Maharashtra             |                         90 |                         38 |     128 |
| 17.       | Meghalaya               |                         12 |                          1 |      13 |
| 18.       | Mizoram                 |                          0 |                          1 |      01 |
| 19.       | Odisha                  |                         11 |                          0 |      11 |
| 20.       | Puducherry              |                          8 |                          2 |      10 |
| 21.       | Punjab                  |                         34 |                          8 |      42 |
| 22.       | Rajasthan               |                         37 |                         21 |      58 |
| 23.       | Sikkim                  |                          5 |                          0 |      05 |
| 24.       | Tamil Nadu              |                        106 |                         43 |     149 |
| 25.       | Telangana               |                         80 |                         32 |     112 |
| 26.       | Tripura                 |                          3 |                          4 |      07 |
| 27.       | Uttar Pradesh           |                         83 |                         16 |      99 |
| 28.       | Uttarakhand             |                         21 |                          2 |      23 |
| 29.       | West Bengal             |                         96 |                         18 |     114 |
| Total     | Total                   |                       1090 |                        333 |    1423 |

State wise seat allocations for the Visvesvaraya PhD scheme in Phase-II (for 2022)

| Sr.No.   | State/Union Territory   | Seats allocated under   |
|----------|-------------------------|-------------------------|

|       |                   |   Full-time category |
|-------|-------------------|----------------------|
| 1.    | Andhra Pradesh    |                    5 |
| 2.    | Arunachal Pradesh |                    6 |
| 3.    | Assam             |                   10 |
| 4.    | Bihar             |                    6 |
| 5.    | Chandigarh        |                    5 |
| 6.    | Chhattisgarh      |                    6 |
| 7.    | Delhi             |                   11 |
| 8.    | Goa               |                    5 |
| 9.    | Gujarat           |                    7 |
| 10.   | Haryana           |                    8 |
| 11.   | Jammu and Kashmir |                    2 |
| 12.   | Jharkhand         |                    3 |
| 13.   | Karnataka         |                   19 |
| 14.   | Kerala            |                    9 |
| 15.   | Madhya Pradesh    |                    8 |
| 16.   | Maharashtra       |                   17 |
| 17.   | Meghalaya         |                    3 |
| 18.   | Mizoram           |                    3 |
| 19.   | Puducherry        |                    6 |
| 20.   | Punjab            |                    9 |
| 21.   | Rajasthan         |                    6 |
| 22.   | Tamil Nadu        |                   16 |
| 23.   | Telangana         |                    5 |
| 24.   | Uttar Pradesh     |                   11 |
| 25.   | Uttarakhand       |                    5 |
| 26.   | West Bengal       |                    9 |
| Total | Total             |                  200 |

## Procedure & Eligibility Criteria

## Institutions eligible for support under the scheme

The minimum requirement for the Institutions/Universities, Research Centers etc. for being eligible  to  receive  grants  under the  scheme is  compliant to the UGC's minimum standards and procedures for award of M.Phil./PhD Degree, Regulation, 2009 (ref. The Gazette of India July11, 2009 Part III sec 4) as amended time to time.

-  All institutions falling in the following seven categories are eligible to participate in the scheme and receive grants:
- -Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs)
- -National Institutes of Technologies (NITs)
- -Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
- -Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)
- -Central Universities
- -Deemed Universities under Central Government
- -Colleges/Institutions of National Importance
-  Institutions falling in the categories (i) Universities created under a Provincial Act/State Act; (ii) State Universities; (iii) Private Universities; (iv)  Private  Deemed  to  be Universities;  (v)  Colleges  that  are  allowed  to  offer  PhDs  and  (vi)  Other  academic  and R&D  institutions,  are  eligible  to  participate  in  the  scheme  subject  to  meeting  the additional eligibility criteria as mentioned below:
- -The Institution should have existing post graduate stream in ESDM/IT/ITES and have produced  PhDs  in  these  areas  for  the  last  3  years.  The  PhD  student(s)  under  this scheme to be admitted as per UGC admission norms
- -The  Institution  should  be  recognized  by  AICTE  and  NBA  (National  Board  of Accreditation) accredited with respect to ESDM & IT/ITES Programme Or
- -The Institution should be accredited by NAAC  (National Assessment and Accreditation Council of UGC).

## Criteria for support of PhD candidates

-  The support is  for  additional  PhD  candidates  taken  up  by  an  institution.  No  support  is provided for current levels of enrolment in the PhD programme.
-  The  candidates  enrolled/registered  for  PhD  during  the  period  of  the  scheme  only  are eligible to apply for the financial support.
-  The number of PhD candidates that an institution can take up under the scheme will be determined department-wise based on number of faculty members available to guide/mentor/advice the PhD candidates and the current levels of enrolment. It will not be permissible  to  take  more  candidates  in  one  department  in  lieu  of  vacancies  in  another department. Departments which are primarily in the area of ESDM or IT/ITES as the case may be are automatically eligible for assistance under the scheme.
-  ESDM and IT/ITES are meta technologies, and the work in these sectors also span other sectors. Departments which are primarily not in the area of ESDM or IT/ITES, may also take advantage of the scheme, provided the research work being pursued by the identified PhD  candidate  is  related  to  ESDM  or  IT/ITES.  Such  requests  for  support  to  other Departments will be considered by the 'Academic Committee' constituted by MeitY for the purposes of this scheme. However, the total number of candidates supported in other Departments will not exceed the total number of supports provided to the Departments (in the same institute/University) which are primarily in the area of ESDM or IT/ITES.
-  Student/Faculty (S/F) ratio for any Department of the institution will be the determinant of the number of PhD candidates that can be supported in the said Department. This ratio will  be  determined  by  'Academic  Committee'  constituted  by  the  Ministry.  The  Faculty members for the purpose of this ratio will be those faculty members who are qualified as per UGC norms to guide/advise PhD candidates work under them.
-  The candidate is eligible for Fellowship for the period during which the candidate is in good  standing,  and  fulfills  the  requirements  of  the  PhD  successfully.  The  maximum period for which the support is available for any fulltime candidate is five years or till the completion of PhD whichever is earlier.
-  The participating institution has to ensure that a candidate receiving fellowship under this scheme  is  not  receiving  any  financial  support  for  PhD  from  any  other  scheme  of Government  of  India/States  etc.  at  the  same  time.  The  candidates  who  have  availed support for their PhD from any other scheme of Government of India/States etc. will be automatically be stands disqualified for support under this scheme.

## Criteria for support for Young Faculty Research Fellowship

-  Young Faculty Research Fellowship is meant for those who have a proven track-record as evident from their research publications and recognitions. The Young Faculty must have a  regular  position  in  the  Institute  and  should  be  engaged  in  research  or  must  be  in  a position on a regular scale, which leads to a regular position in the Institute and should be engaged in research. If he /she is availing any other fellowship, he/she will have to opt for only one of the fellowships.

## Criteria for Participating Institutions

-  The support under the scheme will be provided to the institution granting the PhD degree and  no  direct  funding  support  will  be  provided  by  Government  of  India  to  the  PhD candidates or faculty members or to the Departments in the supported institution.
-  The  participating  institution  shall  ensure  that  a  PhD  candidate  supported  under  the scheme is not funded from CSIR/UGC.
-  IPR generated under the Scheme will be governed by existing rules and regulations of Government/UGC/CSIR.

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