University Grants Commission has extended the last date of application for the MANF or Maulana Azad National Fellowship for minority students till January 10, 2019. The notification for the same has been confirmed on the official website. Earlier the last date was fixed as 31st December 2019.
“The last date for receipt of application has been extended from 31st December 2018 to 10th January 2019 through the link https://www.ugc.ac.in/ugc_schemes/ for the consideration for the award of fellowship for the year 2018-19 under the scheme of Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students,” the UGC said in the release.
“The decision of the Commission with regard to the selection of candidates for the award of fellowships shall be final,” the release from the UGC Secretary said.
The MANF is financial assistance to candidates of minority communities to pursue MPhil and Ph.D. This Scheme is for communities like Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian. This fellowship is for the students who belong to either of these communities to pursue higher studies such as regular and full-time research degrees in Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Engineering and Technology at Indian Universities/ Colleges/Institutions.
After a gap of two years, the government has announced 1000 scholarships for minorities.
To avail these scholarships or financial assistance, a candidate has to fulfill conditions to be eligible, which are:
- The clearance of CBSE/NTA-UGC-NET/CSIR-NET examination
- The Candidate should belong to one of the minority communities mentioned
- The Candidate is required to submit the minority community certificate.
- The Candidate should be registered for regular and full-time M.Phil/Ph.D. courses in University/ Academic Institution by fulfilling conditions of that University Admission.
- The annual income of the beneficiary parents or guardians should not be more than ₹6 lakhs per annum.
- The candidate should have secured a minimum score of 55% at Post Graduate Level.
- Transgender candidates are eligible to apply.
After a candidate has fulfilled the eligibility criteria, they can apply for the fellowship and shall continue with their doctoral degree without thinking about finance.