• be up to 35 years of age (Note: Relaxation of five years to applicants belonging to SC/ST/OBC/Physical Challenged/Women categories)
• be a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree holder
• apply within five years after completing their PhD Degree

Note:- 

• Candidates with a PhD Thesis submitted may also apply, but before joining the PDF program, they will be required to produce the certificate of award of a PhD Degree from his/her University/Institute.
• The candidates, who have completed their PhD from NIT Delhi, can apply for the PDF program after 3 years of completion of their PhD degree. In exceptional cases, this condition may be relaxed and subjected to the approval of the competent authority.
• All the degrees acquired by the candidate must be in first class (starting from Bachelor’s Degree onwards), with at least one degree from CFTI/ Centrally Funded Institutes/Institute of Repute. The candidate should apply within five years after completing the Ph.D. degree.