Government hikes stipends for research scholars; unacceptable, say students

Government hikes stipends for research scholars; unacceptable, say students

News

The Union government has hiked the Junior Research Fellowship — to ₹31,000 a person, nearly 20% increase from the existing ₹25,000.

Important facts

1. The Senior Research Fellowships (SRF), which are given to research students two years into their doctoral studies, had been hiked to ₹35,000 a month
2. Stipends for the Research Assistants (who are pursuing postdoctoral studies and have at least three years of research experience) would range from ₹47,000 to ₹54,000 a month.

Recommendations

1. There should be a system in place to ensure that research stipends are revised annually, instead of once in four years.
2. It is important to incentivise researchers with outstanding research publications or whose work resulted in patents.