Lok Sabha Question No. 777 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: INSPIRE Fellowship
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Smt. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 777 ANSWERED ON 04/02/2026

## INSPIRE FELLOWSHIP

## 777.  SMT.  KANIMOZHI KARUNANIDHI:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  released  the  pending  INSPIRE Fellowship stipends that were promised to Fellows in June 2025 and if so, the details of the funds disbursed, including the specific months for which stipends have been released;
- (b)
- the reasons for the long delays in the disbursal of stipends;
- (c) the number  of  scholars  who  are  currently  a  part of the Fellowship, State wise; and
- (d) whether the Government has taken steps to ensure timely and regular disbursal of stipends in the future and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) The Department of Science and Technology is implementing the INSPIRE Fellowship Scheme for pursuing doctoral degree programmes and the INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship Scheme for pursuing post-doctoral research under the INSPIRE Scheme. During the current financial year, grants for 3,143 INSPIRE Fellows and 458 INSPIRE Faculty Fellows, covering  the  complete  financial  year  up  to  31.03.2026,  have  been released  to  their  respective  host  institutes  through  the  Hybrid  TSA Model-1A.
- (b) The fund flow mechanism was changed from the CNA Model-2 to the  Hybrid  TSA  Model-1A  with  effect  from  16  January  2025.  The transition  to  the  new  mechanism  required  the  respective  host institutions to complete the onboarding process under the Hybrid TSA Model-1A,  which  took  considerable  time.  Further,  the  release  of

fellowship  grants  is  contingent  upon  the  successful  onboarding  of institutions and the submission of mandatory documents, namely the Utilization Certificate, Statement of Expenditure, and Annual Progress Report(s),  by  the  respective  institutions/INSPIRE  Fellows/INSPIRE Faculty  Fellows.   Upon  completion  of  the  onboarding  process  and receipt  of  the  required  documents,  the  fellowship  grants  were released.

## (c) The number of scholars who are currently a part of the INSPIRE and INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship, state-wise is given below:

| State/UT          |   No. of INSPIRE Fellows |   No. of INSPIRE Faculty Fellows |
|-------------------|--------------------------|----------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |                       56 |                               11 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |                        9 |                                0 |
| Assam             |                      141 |                               13 |
| Bihar             |                       22 |                                3 |
| Chandigarh        |                       71 |                                1 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                       43 |                                2 |
| Delhi             |                      212 |                               34 |
| Goa               |                       41 |                                6 |
| Gujarat           |                       99 |                                9 |
| Haryana           |                       36 |                                7 |
| Himachal Pradesh  |                       45 |                                7 |
| Jammu & Kashmir   |                       93 |                               13 |
| Jharkhand         |                       23 |                                9 |
| Karnataka         |                      208 |                               72 |
| Kerala            |                      172 |                               22 |
| Madhya Pradesh    |                      132 |                               11 |
| Maharashtra       |                      169 |                               33 |
| Manipur           |                       15 |                                3 |
| Meghalaya         |                       13 |                                2 |

| State/UT      |   No. of INSPIRE Fellows |   No. of INSPIRE Faculty Fellows |
|---------------|--------------------------|----------------------------------|
| Mizoram       |                       18 |                                0 |
| Nagaland      |                        4 |                                0 |
| Odisha        |                      125 |                               18 |
| Puducherry    |                        6 |                                1 |
| Punjab        |                      119 |                               18 |
| Rajasthan     |                       64 |                               17 |
| Sikkim        |                       10 |                                1 |
| Tamil Nadu    |                      247 |                               23 |
| Telangana     |                      226 |                               27 |
| Tripura       |                       15 |                                0 |
| Uttar Pradesh |                      249 |                               32 |
| Uttarakhand   |                       79 |                                7 |
| West Bengal   |                      381 |                               56 |
| Total         |                     3143 |                              458 |

- (d) The Government has taken several measures to ensure timely and  regular  disbursal  of  fellowships  in  the  future.  The  complete process for onboarding under the Hybrid TSA Model-1A has been made available on the INSPIRE web portal to facilitate smooth implementation by host  institutions.  Adequate  budgetary  provisions have been made for the fellowship schemes. Further, host institutions, INSPIRE Fellows, and INSPIRE Faculty Fellows have been instructed to submit the requisite documents, namely the Utilisation Certificate, Statement of Expenditure, and Annual Progress Report(s), at the early beginning of the next financial year. These measures are intended to enable  and  ensure  the  timely  and  regular  disbursal  of  fellowship stipends.

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