Guidelines for Netaji Subhas - ICAR International Fellowships

1. Objectives:
In its continued efforts towards enhancing and sustaining the standards, quality and
relevance of higher agricultural education in the country, the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) here-in-after, referred as the Council, has instituted International
Fellowships with dual purpose of (i) human resource development in cutting edge
technologies, and (ii) demonstrating the strength of Indian agricultural system abroad. The
objective is to develop competent human resource that are trained in the identified best
laboratories in the world (for Indian candidates) and similarly expose overseas candidates to
the best Indian Agricultural Universities (AUs) in the ICAR-AU system (comprising of State
Agricultural Universities, Central Agricultural University Imphal, ICAR-Deemed
Universities, Allahabad Agricultural Institute-DU, Central Universities having agricultural
faculty) for creating a pool of scientist-envoys for enhanced future co-operation.

2. Title:
The fellowship is named as “Netaji Subhas - ICAR International Fellowship (NS-
ICARIF)” and the awardee will be called “NS-ICAR International Fellow”.

3. Purpose:
The NS-ICARIFs are available to support Indian/ Overseas nationalsfor pursuing
doctoral degree in agriculture and allied sciences, in the identified priority areas, to the
 Indian candidates for study abroad in the identified overseas Universities/Institutions
having strong research and teaching capabilities and
 Overseas candidates for study in the best Indian AUs in the ICAR-AUs system.

4. Location:
For study in the identified institutions having strong research and teaching
capabilities and adequate strength in terms of faculty and infrastructure facilities, the NS
ICAR-IFs are tenable at:
 identified overseas institutions in case of Indian candidates and
 identified Indian Agricultural Universities (AUs) from ICAR-AU system in India in
case of overseas candidates.

5. Tenure of Fellowship:
5.1. The NS-ICARIFsare available to Indian candidates as well as overseas candidates for
a period of three years.
5.2. The tenure of fellowship will not be extended in any case, in so far as the Council
support is concerned.
 5.3. In case the fellow is not able to complete his/her degree during this period, he/she
will use his/her own resources for completing the degree.
5.4. In case the fellow is not able to complete even after 2 years of the prescribed duration
of the programme for which fellowship was sanctioned, the Council may take
necessary steps, for the recovery of the fellowship paid.

6. Number of Fellowships:
Number of fellowships available every year for a programme leading to Ph.D. degree
under this scheme will be thirty (30). The allocation of fellowships between Indian and
Overseas candidates will depend upon the availability of good candidates in the identified
priority areas.

7. Eligibility:
7.1. Master’s degree in agriculture/allied sciences with an Overall Grade Point Average
(OGPA) 6.60 out of 10.0 or 65% marks or equivalent will be the eligibility
requirement for the NS-ICARIFs.
7.2. The fresh candidates should not be more than 35 years of age on the last date
prescribed for receipt of applications. The upper age limit for In-service candidates
will be 40 years on the last date for receipt of applications.
7.3. The notification for fellowship will contain the detailed eligibility requirements.
7.4. Netaji Subhas- ICARIF would be available for both, fresh and in-service candidates.
However, the fresh candidates should have completed their qualifying degree not more
than two years before the specified date in the year of admission. The in-service
candidates from India should be employed in the ICAR-AU system.
7.5. The Council will identify and announce the priority areas of research and the list of
institutions for admission, one year in advance, for availing the Netaji Subhas- ICAR
IFs.

8. Mode of Application:
8.1. The candidate should submit an application for the fellowship, on-line, in the
prescribed format.
8.2. The area of study and the line of the proposed research work should be in the
identified priority area relevant to Indian/Global agriculture as identified by the
Council and the same shall be notified one year in advance.
8.3. The applicant shall provide two references along with their contact Email addresses, in
support of his application, who may be directly contacted by the Council for obtaining
comments in the prescribed format on his candidature. One of the two referees should
preferably be his/her supervisor in the current occupation (if employed) and one who
is an expert in the area and well acquainted with the candidate’s work.
8.4. The applicants for the ICAR-IF must obtain at their own level, an acceptance of their
admission in the Ph.D. degree programmes with identified area of study at the
 identified Indian AUs in case of overseas applicants and the identified overseas
institutions in case of Indian applicants. Such acceptance letters should preferably be
enclosed with the application for the fellowship.
8.5. The candidates should satisfy themselves regarding admission and course
requirements of the university before identifying these as a place of study.
8.6. Applications for NS-ICARIFs will be invited on annual basis through announcements
published in Indian national newspapers and the notification on ICAR website
“http://www.icar.org.in”. Indian diplomatic missions in foreign countries will also be
informed through e-mails.

9. Mode of Selection:
9.1. The candidates will be evaluated based on parameters/weighted scale thereby taking
into account the relevance of the area of study, the proposed research plan, academic
records, achievements and past work experience of the candidate.
9.2. The selection will be made on the basis of evaluation score and subsequent interview
by a Selection Committee, constituted by the Council and duly empowered to judge
the suitability of candidate with regard to the importance of the area of study and the
proposed research plan.The Committee may also decide to conduct
telephonic/teleconferencing interview for the purpose. The overseas candidates may
even be interviewed by experts as identified by the Council who may be based in
their home country.
9.3. The candidate should have clear record of good conduct all-through, duly certified by
the Competent Authority of the University last attended or the present employer in
case of in-service candidate.
9.4. At the time of interview, the applicants must furnish a letter of acceptance for their
admission in the respective degree programme at the University.
9.5. The in-service Indian candidates must also furnish deputation approval by their
respective Director of ICAR Institutes/Vice-Chancellor of Agricultural Universities.
9.6. Once selected, the candidates must register for the programme within one year from
the date of issue of letter of fellowship award. In case of delay, the offer will get
terminated automatically and no separate communication towards cancellation will
be issued by the Council.

10. Fellowship Amount and Contingencies:

The fellow will be entitled to the following:
10.1. To-and-fro, economy class air ticket for international travel, by the shortest route,
from the airport, nearest to the residence/ work place of the candidate to the airport,
nearest to the destination University in respect of both Indian and Overseas
candidates (Air tickets to be provided by the Council).
 10.2. The overseas fellows will be entitled for economy-class-travel cost reimbursement
from port of arrival in India to the destination University in India and back.
10.3. For Indian candidates, the cost on travel from place of residence/work to the port of
departure in India and from port of arrival to the destination University overseas will
be met by the fellows themselves or by their sponsoring organization.
10.4. Amount payable to the International fellowship candidates:
Ph.D. Amount not exceeding Lump-sum payments towards
contingent and preparatory
expenses
Indian fellows going US$ 2,000/- per month US$ 1,000/- per year
abroad
Overseas fellows in India INR 40,000/- per month INR 25,000/- per year

10.5. The fellowship amount for the first six months, as first installment, will be released
by the Council to the fellow through government notified/ approved bank to be
deposited in the bank account of the fellow on receiving his/ her acceptance for the
fellowship and admission letter received from the host University.
10.6. Thereafter, the amount of fellowship will be released to the fellow, after receiving the
academic progress report from the fellow duly certified by the concerned advisor/
supervisor/ head of institution.
10.7. The first installment to the Indian fellow will be paid in Indian Rupees only.
10.8. The fellow will meet all other costs including medical insurance etc. from the above
fellowship or from his/ her own resources.
10.9. During the tenure of fellowship, an in-service fellow may continue to receive his/her
salary, types of leave and benefits etc. from the parent organization as per rules.

11. Bank Guarantee and Service Bond:

11.1 (i) Indian selected fellows shall provide an irrevocable Bank guarantee for an amount
of US$ 10,000/- (equivalent in rupee currency) in favour of the Secretary, ICAR.
The Bank guarantee should be valid for the entire duration till the successful
completion of the programme.
(ii) For foreign national selected fellows, an amount of Rs. 2,00,000 will be
recovered from their fellowship grant as alternate of Bank guaranty, in terms of
Rs. 1,00,000 each from first and second installment till successful completion of
their Ph.D. study programme. This fellowship amount of Rs. 2,00,000 will be paid
to the fellow at the time of final release of fellowship”.

11.2 The Indian in-service candidates selected for international fellowship shall execute a
bond with the deputing University/Institute to undertake to serve that institution after
the completion of degree for at least three years.
12 Continuance of the Fellowship:
12.1 The fellow will submit his progress report to the Council, through his/her
adviser/supervisor/ head of the institution every six months.
12.2 During the tenure of fellowship, the fellow should neither change the place of work
nor deviate from the broad research area for which the fellowship is sanctioned. The
selected candidates shall be required to submit an Undertaking to this effect and also
for adherence to the other conditions of the guidelines regulating the fellowship as
prescribed by the ICAR, with the acceptance of the International Fellowship.
12.3 The fellow will devote his/ her full time for his/ her chosen area of studies/ research
work during the tenure of his/ her fellowship.
12.4 Satisfactory progress in studies will be essential for the continuance of the fellowship
during the period of study as reflected by the grades secured and certification by the
advisor/ supervisor.
12.5 In case of unsatisfactory performance in studies, or conduct probation, the fellowship
will be terminated with immediate effect and the fellow will be required to meet the
expenditure on remaining part of the programme from his/her own resources.
12.6 This fellowship is not meant for the conduct of training or to carry out research of
short duration.
12.7 Research Experiment and data collection at Indian SAUs/Institutions located in India.

(i) The fellows, who are required to put experiments at Indian SAUs/Institutes located in
India and data collection from the Indian location, maybe allowed for a maximum
period of one-and-a-half-year as per their research plan.
(ii) With the consent of their Advisor and prior approval of ICAR, they may undertake
interim visits to India on their own resources. ICAR will not provide any financial
support on travelling for the purpose.
(iii) During the stay in India, they will be eligible for fellowships @ Rs. 40,000/- per
month plus contingent and preparatory expenses @ Rs. 25,000/- per annum, as the
same amount which is offered to foreign national fellows doing Ph.D in India under
the scheme.
(iv) The period of absence from host university and stay in Indian university/Institute
need to be authenticated/verified by the identified Advisor and Co-Advisor
respectively.

13 Medical Fitness:
Selected fellow would be required to get his/ her medical fitness test and medical
insurance done at his/her own cost.

14 Payment of Fee:
All fees chargeable by the host institution where the fellow is enrolled will be paid by
the fellow himself out of the fellowship grant or from his/ her own resources.
15 IPR Issues:
The fellow is expected to take proper measures to protect the Intellectual Property
Rights likely to be generated during his/ her stay in the host institution. The Council will
have the appropriate share on the patents/ knowledge generated by the fellow while pursuing
the programme as specified under IP Management bulletin. If the fellow enters into any other
IP agreement, the same will be appropriately shared with the Council. In all publications
arising out of this work, the support from the Council should be duly acknowledged.

16 Completion Report from Netaji Subhas-ICARIF:

Both Indian and Overseas fellows will have to submit within 15 days of their
completion of the program, a copy of the dissertation/thesis and a brief report on the
activities undertaken including any significant research contribution to the Council.

17 Non-return of Indian Fellows to India:

The Indian Fellows have to return back to India after completion of the Ph.D. degree.
If the fresh Indian Fellow is offered a suitable position in ICAR-AU system, he/she shall
serve the ICAR-AU system. In case of non-compliance to these provisions, entire amount
paid to the Fellow along with 10% overhead cost will be recovered by the Council from the
Fellow himself or from his surety, failing which, the Indian Embassy in the host country will
be informed to take appropriate action.
18 Budget Head for Expenditure:
The expenditure on the NS-ICAR International fellowships, contingent grant and
travel expenses will be met from the Council from the Plan budget-head “ICAR
International/overseas fellowships”.
19 Review of the Netaji Subhas-ICAR international fellowship Scheme:
The ICAR international fellowship scheme along with the fellowship amount and its
guidelines will be subject to periodic reviews, as deemed fit by the Council.
20 General:
20.1 For any clarification regarding the NS-ICARIFs, the Assistant Director General
(HRD), Education Division, ICAR, New Delhi may be contacted.
20.2 Secretary, ICAR and Additional Secretary DARE will be the final authority in
resolving and taking decision on any situation/case of conflict and his decision shall be
binding on all parties concerned.
20.3 For any dispute, the applicable law will be the Indian law under the jurisdiction of
Courts in Delhi only.
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