Objective
The objective of the scheme is to provide integrated five-year fellowships in the form of financial assistance to students from minority communities, as notified by the Central Government to pursue higher studies such as M.Phil. and PhD at Indian Universities/Institutions/Colleges as indicated below:

• Universities/Institutions/Colleges included under section 2(f) & and 12(B) of UGC Act.
• Deemed to be Universities included under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 and eligible to receive grants-in-aid from UGC Universities/Institutions/College funded by Central/State Government.
• Institutes of National Importance.

Eligibility
A candidate has to fulfil the following conditions to be eligible for the award of this fellowship:

• Candidate should belong to one of the minority communities – Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi & Jain notified under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• Candidate should submit the minority community certificate on an actionable and legally valid affidavit fulfil until the State Government/Union Territory administration starts to issue the minority community certificate.
• Candidate should be registered for regular and full-time M.Phil/ PhD courses in University/Academic Institution by fulfilling conditions of admission of that University/Institution.
• The annual income of the beneficiary/parents or guardian of the beneficiary should not exceed Rs. 2.5 lakh from all sources. Candidate should submit his/her income or his/her parent’s/guardian’s income certificate issued by the appropriate Authority.
• The candidate should have secured a minimum score of 50% at Post Graduate level.
• Transgender candidates are eligible to apply under the scheme. The reservation shall be followed as per Government of India norms.

These are integrated five-year fellowships for M.Phil & PhD subject to academic criteria in force for selection to PhD program.

Name of the Course and Maximum duration of the scholarship

• For M.Phil, maximum duration is 2 years or submission of dissertation whichever is earlier
• For M.Phil and PhD, maximum duration is 5 years or submission of PhD thesis whichever is earlier
• For PhD, maximum duration is 5 years or submission of PhD thesis whichever is earlier.

Nature of assistance available under the scheme
The rate of fellowship for JRF and SRF will be at par with the UGC fellowship as amended from time to time. Presently these rates are as follows:

• Fellowship- Rs.25,000/- p.m. for initial two years (JRF) and Rs.28,000/- p.m. for remaining tenure (SRF)
• Contingency for Contingency for Humanities & Social Sciences and Commerce- Rs.10, 000/- p.a. for initial two years and Rs.20, 500/- p.a. for the remaining three years
• Contingency for Science-Rs.12, 000/- p.a. for initial two years and Rs.25, 000/- p.a. for the remaining three years.
• Escorts/Reader Assistance- Rs.2,000/- p.m. in cases of physically and visually challenged candidates

The application date for the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority students is yet to be announced. Usually, every year applications are invited on 1st July and close on 31st July.

For updates, please visit- https://www.ugc.ac.in/manf/default.aspx