Lok Sabha Research Fellowship 2016

The Lok Sabha Secretariat will grant twenty-five Research Fellowships every year, on any subject having relevance or connection with the Parliament or Parliamentary democracy.

The duration of the Fellowships will be of two years with no extension to be granted in this regard.

Selection Procedure for granting Research Fellowships

1. The selection for the grant of Research Fellowships will be made by a Fellowship Committee.
2. An advertisement will be issued in major national dailies in Hindi, English and regional languages announcing the Fellowships. The advertisement will be uploaded on the Lok Sabha website prominently, mentioning therein detailed procedure for submission of applications. Major central universities and reputed educational institutions, including University Grants Commission; Indian Council for Social Science Research; Indian Council of Historical Research; Indian Institute of Public Administration; Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research; Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies; Centre for Development Studies; Indian Council for World Affairs; National Institute for Rural Development; Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations; Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses; National Council for Applied Economic Research; Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries; National Institute of Public Finance; Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy; Indian Institute of Advanced Studies; Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration; Association of Indian Universities; University of Educational Planning and Administration; all national law institutes/universities; all State Legislatures; Lok Sabha Television; Rajya Sabha Television; Doordarshan; media organizations and other reputed institutions will be requested to forward names of suitable candidates to the Lok Sabha Secretariat for consideration by the Fellowship Committee. The notice regarding the Fellowship Scheme may also be circulated among the media persons covering the proceedings of Parliament.
3. The Fellowship Committee may also suo motu consider meritorious scholars for the Fellowship.
4. The applicant will be required to send in his/her particulars in the prescribed format (Annexure), duly filled-in, along with a Synopsis of 1000 words of his/her proposal.
5. The Fellowship Committee shall consider and recommend the names to the Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, for the grant of Lok Sabha Fellowships.
6. If the Fellowship Committee does not find any applicant suitable for the grant of the Fellowship, no Fellowship may be granted during that year. The Committee may, however, consider awarding the Fellowship for that particular year in the next year, subject to the availability of funds.
7. A Fellow has to submit quarterly Progress Report of the Fellowship project for the consideration and satisfaction of the Fellowship Committee. The final Report shall be submitted in triplicate for the appraisal and perusal of the Fellowship Committee.

Guidelines for submission of proposals
(i) While submitting the proposal, the format may broadly be according to the following order of points and conform to the guidelines given under:

1. Title of the Project
2. Statement of the Problem: In the opening paragraphs of the research proposal, the problem to be investigated should be stated clearly and briefly. The significance of the problem in the theoretical context of the discipline concerned should be specified.
3. Overview of Literature: Summarizing the current status of research in the area, including major findings, the project proposal should clearly demonstrate the relevance of the findings or approaches for the investigation of the problem at hand.
4. Conceptual Framework: Given the problem and the theoretical perspective for investigation of the problem, the proposal should clearly indicate the concepts to be used and demonstrate their relevance for the study. It should further specify the empirical dimension, if any, that needs to be explored for investigating the problem.
5. Research Questions/Hypotheses: Given the conceptual framework and dimensions of the problem, specific questions to be answered and hypotheses to be tested through the proposed study should be explicitly formulated, compatible with the research design.
6. Coverage: In the light of the questions raised or the hypotheses proposed to be tested, if sampling becomes necessary, full information on the following points should be given:

(i) Universe of the Study,
(ii) Sampling Frame, and
(iii) Units of Observation and Sampling size.

• If the study requires any control groups, they should be specifically mentioned. An explanation of the determination of size and type of the sample shall also be necessary. Proposals not requiring a sample selection should specify their strategy appropriately and describe the rationale.
• Methodology: A suitable description of the methods of research for the study may be given.
• Data Collection: The different types of data that are proposed to be gathered should be specifically mentioned. The sources for each type and the tools and techniques that will be used for collecting different types of data should also be specified.
• Time Budgeting: The project should be broken up in suitable stages and the time required for the completion of each stage of work should be specified.
• Bibliography

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
The selected research scholar shall sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lok Sabha Secretariat undertaking to abide by the terms and conditions mentioned therein.
Amount of Fellowship
The total amount of each Fellowship for writing Books will be a maximum of Rs.10 lakh (Rupees Ten lakh only), plus Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) as contingency allowance. The amount sanctioned to a Fellow will be disbursed in instalments, subject to the satisfactory progress of the project and recommendation of the Fellowship Committee to that effect.
Library facility
The scholars will be provided the facility to access the Parliament Library as well as photocopying facility free of cost in regard of documents relating to their study.
Publication Assistance in respect of Books

• After the final report of the Fellowship is recommended by the Fellowship Committee for publication and subsequently approved by the Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, the Fellow shall be required to enter into an agreement with a reputed publisher for the publication of the Book and a copy of the agreement may be provided to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
• The following text shall be prominently printed on the back of the inner title page of the Book for which publication grant has been provided by the Secretariat:
• In case publication assistance is granted by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the Fellow shall supply 50 copies of the publication on complimentary basis to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
• In case publication assistance is not granted by the Lok Sabha Secretariat or the Fellow does not seek any assistance and intends to publish it on his/her own, the Secretariat may invoke the 'Disclaimer Clause‟, i.e. „The responsibility for the facts stated or opinions expressed is entirely of the author and not of the Lok Sabha Secretariat‟, and grant permission for the same. In that case, he/she will supply 10 copies of the publication to the Lok Sabha Secretariat on complimentary basis.

Accommodation
Based on his/her exigencies of service, a single suit non-AC accommodation will be provided to a Fellow in Western Court, Janpath, subject to availability.
General
The decision of the Hon‟ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, will be final in all matters relating to the Fellowships.
Copyright
The copyright of the publication shall vest with the Lok Sabha Secretariat. „The publication of the Book has been financially supported by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The responsibility for the facts stated or opinions expressed is entirely of the author and not of the Lok Sabha Secretariat‟.

CONDITIONS

1. That the research project shall be completed and the final manuscript of the Book shall be submitted to the Lok Sabha Secretariat within the stipulated time as mentioned in the Guidelines and Rules.
2. That the quarterly progress report of the work shall be submitted to the Lok Sabha Secretariat as scheduled.
3. That non-submission of reports at specified schedules may lead to suspension/cancellation of the grant without notice.
4. That the Lok Sabha Secretariat has the right to terminate the award at any time, without intimation, if the progress is found to be unsatisfactory, by any reasons whatsoever, by the Fellowship Committee.
5. After the completion of the study, a declaration to the effect that “The project being basically the work of the author, the Lok Sabha Secretariat is not responsible for factual errors, inaccuracies and inferences, if any”, shall be suitably incorporated in the manuscript by the Fellow.
6. The Fellow, who has been granted the research project, would be required to acknowledge the assistance from the Lok Sabha Secretariat in such terms as may be specified by the Secretariat under the authority of the Fellowship Committee.
7. The copyright of the publication shall vest with the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
8. The decision of the Hon‟ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, shall be final in all matters.