Call for Applications under INSPIRE Fellowship | 1000 fellowships for pharmacy, medicine and sciences

Department of Science & Technology (DST) has taken several pioneering initiatives for attracting meritorious students to study basic and natural sciences at the college and university level and to pursue research careers in both basic and applied science areas, including engineering, medicine, agriculture, veterinary sciences and pharmacy etc. through various components under Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE). INSPIRE offers an opportunity for pursuing Doctoral Research at any recognized University or Institute in India through Fellowships at the same level as National Eligibility Test (NET) qualified candidates. The INSPIRE Fellowship component of the INSPIRE Program is focused on attracting students to pursue a regular doctoral degree in basic and applied sciences, including engineering, medicine, agriculture, veterinary, pharmacy etc., after either Master’s / Bachelor’s degree (minimum 4 years or 8 semesters) in Science/ Applied Science/ Engineering/ Medicine.

Applications are invited for the year 2025, from eligible candidates preferably in the age group of 22- 27 years for Fellowship, under the INSPIRE Fellowship component of the INSPIRE scheme of DST through the web portal online-inspire.gov.in

Eligibility:
1st Rank Holders in any recognized University and Academic Institutions (Excluding Autonomous Colleges) in India in Post-Graduate (PG) level examination in Basic/Applied Sciences, including Engineering, Pharmacy, Agricultural Sciences, Medicine and Veterinary Sciences. 1st Rank should be obtained in university in a basic/applied science subject course/program having a batch size of minimum 07 students with a minimum 70% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed, for the entire course/ program. 1st Rank Holder shall be in a complete degree examination (not just in specialization) during the two-year tenure or more.
OR
INSPIRE Scholar having secured a minimum 70% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed at M.Sc. or an Integrated M.S./ M.Sc. course.
OR
1st Rank Holders in any recognized University and Academic Institutions (Excluding Autonomous Colleges) in India in Bachelor’s in Medicine/ B.Sc. /B.Sc. (Hons.) /B.E /B.Tech /B.V.Sc. /B.V.Sc & A.H., i.e. bachelor’s degree in Basic/Applied Sciences, including Engineering, Pharmacy, Agricultural Sciences, Medicine and Veterinary Sciences, having a batch size of minimum 07 students with minimum 75 % marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed. 1st Rank Holder shall be in the complete degree examination (not just in specialization) during the four-year tenure or more for B.Sc. / B.Sc. (Hons.) / B.E. / B.Tech / B.V.Sc. / B.V.Sc. & A.H.
OR
INSPIRE Scholar having secured a minimum 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale, wherever grading system is followed, at B.Sc. (Hons.) (4 years) or B.Sc. with Research of minimum 4 years/ 8 Semesters.

However, merely fulfilling the eligibility criteria for the INSPIRE Fellowship will not guarantee for the final offer of fellowship. Subject Expert Committee (SEC) will finally recommend the applications for award of INSPIRE Fellowship considering the academic merit, research proposal, supervisor’s research credentials and host institution etc. parameters on a competitive basis.

Please note that Students who i) are 1st Rank Holders in College, including Autonomous College Examination, ii) have obtained degree (s) through Distance Education Mode and iii) are 1st Rank Holders in any specialization given at M.Sc. are not eligible for the offer of INSPIRE Fellowship. Candidates who are Indian citizens and have acquired their eligibility for the INSPIRE Fellowship during the years 2024, 2025 and 2026 (till closing date of the call) are eligible to apply.

The students who are already enjoying Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) or a higher position in any project or otherwise are not eligible to apply for this. Merely having the eligibility does not guarantee the offer of the INSPIRE Fellowship. Finally, selected students for the INSPIRE Fellowship against the previous advertisement need not apply again.

Emoluments: The Fellowship amount under the INSPIRE Fellowship is as per the GoI norms of fellowship (Junior Research Fellowship/ Senior Research Fellowship) and a research grant to the candidate. There is a provision of 1000 INSPIRE Fellowships to be offered to eligible students against the INSPIRE Fellowship-2025 call and each Fellowship is tenable for a maximum period of five years or completion of the PhD viva-voce, whichever is earlier. This Fellowship shall not be available to pursue M.Sc. or M.Phil. or M. Tech. course while pursing Integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D./ M. Phil.-Ph.D./ M. Tech.-Ph.D. courses.

How to apply:
Interested and eligible students must apply and submit their application with all essential documents through the online mode only. Applications are to be submitted online on the INSPIRE web-portal https://www.online-inspire.gov.in. Those interested in submitting application have to register at this portal and submit the application online.

Please read the guidelines available on the INSPIRE web-portal carefully before submitting the application. It is also advised to download related guidelines and FAQs and keep with you for future reference purposes. This web-portal will be open from 24th April, 2026 to 23rd May 2026 (till 23:59 hrs. IST). For further enquiries regarding the INSPIRE-Fellowship component, please send an email to: inspire.prog-dst@nic.in. For queries, please call us on 0124-6690020, 0124-6690021.

Selection Process:
Selection from among the eligible applicants is done in two stages, i.e. Level-I and Level-II.
1. Applicants who are already admitted to Ph.D. Program in S&T prior to submitting the application and selected at both Level-I & Level-II, will be awarded the Final Offer for the INSPIRE Fellowship.
2. Applicants who are not admitted to Ph.D. Program in S&T prior to submitting the application and get selected at Level-I, will be awarded a Provisional Offer for INSPIRE Fellowship and they will be given two slots of one month each, separated by a gap of approximately 5-6 months for uploading Ph.D. admission documents during 1-year duration.

The Provisional Offer is made on the basis of scrutiny of the application along with the required documents (Level-I) submitted by the applicant. However, the Final Offer is made on the basis of evaluation of the application at Level-II, considering i) Academic merit ii) the Host Institution, including Research Supervisor profile and iii) the detailed Research Proposal, by the Subject Expert Committee. At the Level-II Evaluation process, applicants need to secure a qualifying score/cutoff based on the Subject Expert Committee’s recommendations and approval of the Competent Authority. The cut-off marks may vary based on the competitive framework of the selection process. Applicants are advised to properly fill all the columns of the research proposal section with utmost care and get checked and attested by the Research Supervisor, as the Level-2 selection depends upon the quality and merit of the uploaded research proposal. Also, it is important to note that the Provisional Offer does not guarantee the award of the INSPIRE Fellowship.

Instructions for filling Online Application
1. Applications must be submitted through online mode only. No application will be accepted in other than online mode.
2. To apply Online, please visit the website: https://www.online-inspire.gov.in/ and follow the process prescribed therein.
3. The online application submission process shall start on 24th April 2026 and will be available up to 23rd May 2026 (till 23:59 hrs. IST). Please click the link below to download the guidelines for filling up Online applications: https://online-inspire.gov.in/
4. Applicants are advised to take a printout of the submitted online application for their own records. Please do not send the application or any other documents by Post.
5. Incomplete or unclear or wrongly filled up application or application lacking clarity in essential documents are liable to be rejected.
6. Applicant’s own valid and functional email address must be used to register on the INSPIRE web-portal for submission of online application. Status of the application shall be informed only through the INSPIRE web-Portal. The applicant needs to login into own (registered) account to view the status.
7. Please note that all Semester/Year wise marksheets of UG/PG shall be uploaded on the designated tabs in the online application form (Marksheets without proper authentication are liable to be rejected).
8. The First Rank Certificate format is available on the INSPIRE web portal and must be submitted strictly in the prescribed standard format, without any modifications/overwriting/striking/tampering. Applications deviating from the prescribed format of FRC mentioned above are liable to be rejected.
9. Do not submit more than one application. Please ensure that all aspects of the application are correct before submitting.
10. Applicant needs to take care of plagiarism in research proposal as DST reserves the right to conduct similarity/plagiarism check. Research proposals found beyond the permissible limit are liable to be rejected.
11. Research supervisors need to go through the research proposal thoroughly from the novelty, quality and completeness perspective before signing the undertaking.
12. Any Legal proceedings in respect to any matter of claim or dispute arising out of this advertisement and/or application can be lodged only in Delhi Courts/ Tribunals/ Forums. Delhi Courts/Tribunal/Forums only shall have the sole and exclusive jurisdiction to try any case/dispute.