DST Revises Fellowships Under WISE-KIRAN Division

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has released a notification informing the revision of fellowships under different Programmes of the WISE-KIRAN Division. The revised emoluments shall be effective from January 1, 2023.

To increase women”s participation in the field of Science and Technology (S&T) to bring gender parity, DST is implementing a special program ‘Women in Science and Engineering- KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN) scheme. The umbrella fellowship program covers different fellowships including WISE Fellowship for Ph.D. (WISE-PhD), WISE Post-Doctoral Fellowship (WISE-PDF), WIDUSHI, WISE-SCOPE, WISE-IPR including overseas opportunities including WINGS and CURIE Programme.

According to the official notification released by the DST, Ministry of Science and Technology, among the fellowships offered under the WISE-KIRAN Division, emoluments for WISE-PDF, WISE-SCOPE, CSRI-PDF, WISE-IPR, WOS-A and WOS-B are revised.

.@IndiaDST has revised #fellowships under different Programmes of the WISE-KIRAN Division.
🔹Revised emoluments shall be with effect from 01.01.2023.@DrJitendraSingh @karandi65 @guptaakhilesh63 @VandanaDST @chhamaawasthi pic.twitter.com/bOqEHe4yMz

— DSTIndia (@IndiaDST) February 14, 2024

Under WISE-PDF, WISE- SCOPE, and CSRI-PDF emolument has been revised from the existing Rs 55,000 to Rs 67,000 per month. WISE-IPR fellowships range from Rs 25,000 – 35,000 per month and have been revised from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per month.  For WOS-A and WOS-B programmes the emolument has increased revised for ranging between Rs 37,000 to Rs 67,000 per month.

The House Rent Allowance (HRA) shall be as per the government norms, DST informed. Concerning the arrears, the grantee institutions are advised to pay it on account of revision to the Principal Investigator (PI). Notably, the DST move is expected to foster innovation and research excellence via women”s participation in science and engineering research.

In the past, scholars have been demanding concrete updates regarding hikes in research scholars amid the rising costs of living and inflation in the country. DST had earlier issued statements that the issue of fellowship hike is their top priority and is of utmost importance.