INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research) fellowships are organized by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), under the Ministry of Science and Technology. The program is initiated with an objective to issue research grants to eligible applicants pursuing doctoral programmes. A merit based selection procedure is followed where in eligible candidates can apply offline for this fellowship program.

Eligibility Criteria for Inspire Fellowship Program

It is compulsory for applicants to be Indian citizens to become eligible for Inspire Fellowship program. Post graduate degree is also mandatory. Applicants should satisfy the following eligibility conditions to attain Inspire Fellowship grant (in order to pursue PhD degree) -

• Candidates need to complete M.Sc or Integrated M.S/M.Sc courses by scoring a minimum aggregate of 65% marks.
• Post Graduate Degree holders in Basic/Applied Sciences having scored first rank in PG level can also apply.
• Graduates in engineering/medical/agriculture/pharmaceutical/veterinary sciences with 1st rank are also eligible to apply.

Selection Procedure for Inspire Fellowship Program

A two way selection procedure is followed for choosing eligible candidates for the fellowship program. As the first step, submitted applications of suitable candidates will be screened by an Internal Committee. The second step of selection process includes the final screening of selected candidates by an Expert Committee. The final selection of applicants will be based on merit level. The complete selection procedure will take at least 4 months and the final result will be intimated to the individual selected applicants. Apart from this, the merit list of qualified applicants will also be put up in the official website of Inspire.

Application Procedure for Inspire Fellowship Program

Candidates need to follow an offline application format to submit applications. It is compulsory for candidates to meet all specified eligibility criteria before applying for this fellowship program. A prescribed format needs to be followed by candidates while submitting the application forms for this fellowship program. Details on this can be collected from the web portal of Inspire. Subject, subject number, educational details of the candidate, address for communication, etc must be mentioned in the application form. It is compulsory to send completed application forms along with required educational documents via post to the specified address – The Head, Inspire program, Department of Science and Technology, Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi – 110 016. It is important to write – “Application for INSPIRE Fellowship” on the top of the envelope along with the specific subject code.