New Delhi, Dec 19: In its attempt to encourage students of the minority community to take up research work, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has officially announced as many as 1,000 vacancies for Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students (MUNAF). It will offer fellowship of maximum five years to the students belonging to the minority community including Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, and Muslim. Financial assistance will be given to the qualified candidates for pursuing higher education and completing their research.
Application process to be concluded on December 31
The application procedure will conclude on December 31, 2018. The UGC has asked the interested students to apply in advance in order to avoid any last minute chaos. “We expect heavy load on the website towards the last date of applying. Therefore, apply well before the closing date to avoid network congestion/disconnection and inability to register your application,” the official notice read.
Duration of MUNAF fellowship
| Course | Duration | Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) | Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) |
| M. Phil | 2 years or submission of dissertation, whichever is earlier | 2 years | Nil |
| M.Phil + Ph.D | 5 years or submission of Ph.D. thesis, whichever is earlier | 2 years | Remaining 3 years |
| Ph.D. | 5 years or submission of Ph.D. thesis, whichever is earlier | 2 years | Remaining 3 years |
Eligibility criteria
Academic qualification- Clearing either NTA-UGC-NET or CSIR-NET or CBSE exam before applying is mandatory. The candidates should be registered for a Ph.D. or M.Phil programme at a government recognised educational institute or university. They should have secured a minimum of 55 per cent marks in their PG course as well.
Caste- The candidates should belong to one of these minority communities- Buddhist, Christian, Sikh, Parsi and, Muslim. The minority community certificate has to be submitted.
Income- The family income of the students should not exceed six lakh per annum.
Where to apply?
Students should visit the official website of UGC- www.ugc.ac.in. Under the ‘Scholarship/Fellowship’ tab, they should click on ‘Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students’. ‘Apply’ link should be clicked after reading all the instructions carefully.
About MUNAF
Ministry of Minority Affairs will fund the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students. The scheme is open only for the candidates belonging to one of the minority communities mentioned above. There is a reservation of three per cent fellowships for Physically Handicapped candidates as per the rules laid down by the Government of India.