MANF – Know All About Maulana Azad National Fellowship

MANF – Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students is a fellowship scheme which is implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs which through the UGC. Started with the objective to provide integrated five year fellowships in the form of financial assistance, MANF encourages students of minority communities to pursue higher studies such as M.Phil./Ph.D. in Science, Humanities, Social Science and Engineering & Technology. Under this fellowship scheme, a total of 1000 fellowships are disbursed among eligible candidates. The selected students receive a fellowship amount of up to INR 28,000 per month along with various other benefits.

In this article, we have covered all the details of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship. A complete description on MANF award detail, application period, eligibility criteria and application procedure are depicted here. Find a brief account of these factors in the table given below.

Highlights of MANF

* The application period mentioned above is tentative and subject to change as per the discretion of fellowship provider.

Now, read about UGC MANF – Maulana Azad National Fellowship in complete details as given below.

MANF – Award

MANF caters to the financial requirements of research students so as to help them complete their M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees and become eligible for employment to the posts of lecturers in academic institutions and other establishments where M.Phil./Ph.D. degrees are pre-requisites. Also, 30% of the total number of fellowships are earmarked for female candidates while the remaining 70% is for male candidates. The selected candidates receive the fellowship amount directly into their bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Find the rate of fellowship for JRF (Junior Research Fellow) and SRF (Senior Research Fellow) in the table given below.

Award Detail of MANF

MANF – Application Period

The application period of Maulana Azad National Fellowship differs from year-to-year. Its application time can range from August to December. However, for the academic year 2018-19, the application opened during the month of December 2018. The deadline fell in the first week of January 2019. So, the application period mentioned in this article is tentative and subject to change as per the wishes of fellowship provider.

MANF – Eligibility Criteria

Maulana Azad National Fellowship also known as MANF is meant for students of minority communities that include Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian and Jain. The selection of candidates for MANF is done on the basis of merit displayed by students in CBSE/NTA-UGC-NET/ CSIR-NET examination. Given below is the details about eligibility conditions that applicants need to fulfil in order to avail the benefits of the fellowship scheme.

• The applicants must belong to minority communities as notified under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• The applicants must have taken admission in M.Phil./Ph.D. courses as regular and full-time students.
• The applicants must have cleared CBSE-NET/CSIR-NET/NTA/UGC-NET examination to be eligible for MANF.
• The students must have obtained at least 55% marks at postgraduate level.
• The annual family income of the candidates applying for Maulana Azad National Fellowship must not be more than INR 6 Lakh from all sources.
• Also, transgender candidates are eligible to apply for this fellowship and the reservation for such candidates are provided as per the norms of the Government of India.

MANF – Application Process

In order to make the application process easy and simple for students, UGC allows applicants to apply online through its official website. Follow the application procedure given below to fill the application form of Maulana Azad National Fellowship.

• First, the applicants need to visit the official UGC website and scroll down to click on the ‘view all’ tab of ‘Scholarship/Fellowships’ page. A list of scholarships and fellowships offered by UGC is displayed.
• Go to the category of ‘Fellowship’ and click on ‘Apply Now’ button given under Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students.
• The applicants need to read the instruction carefully and click on ‘Proceed for Registration’.
• Fill in the required details in the form to register. A registration ID is generated upon completing the registration process which helps in downloading the PDF file of completed application form once it is submitted.
• While filling the form, the applicants need to provide personal detail, contact information, academic details, institute’s detail, details of research work which includes research subject, topic of research, department, etc. Other details like the Supervisor’s details, scholarship details and present employment are also required to be filled.
• Finally, the candidates must review the filled-in information. Once satisfied, go to declaration section. Read it carefully and click on ‘I agree’ to submit the application.

MANF – Key Documents

While applying for the MANF, the applicants must keep ready a few important documents with them. The list of the necessary documents for Maulana Azad National Fellowship that needs to kept in scanned form is highlighted below.

• Applicant’s recent colour photograph and signature
• Domicile certificate
• Affidavit of minority community certificate
• Specific handicapped certificate, if required
• NET/JRF award letter or mark sheet in case award letter has not been received
• Mark sheet of master’s degree
• Certificate from Head of the Department/Institution stating that the necessary facilities will be provided by the College/University/Institution in case the candidates get selected for this fellowship

MANF – Selection Procedure

The UGC follows certain procedures while selecting the recipients of Maulana Azad National Fellowship. Find below the details about the selection process for MANF fellows.

• Once the online applications are submitted on the designated website by the candidates, they are verified by UGC regarding the fulfilment of eligibility conditions as prescribed in the guidelines.
• An expert committee constituted by the Commission considers the submitted applications and selects a final list of candidates which is published on the UGC website. The decision of the selection committee is final.
• The awardees are required to join the fellowship with effect from 1^st April of the selection year.

 MANF – Terms and Conditions

The research work performed by the JRF and SRF in the initial two years is assessed and monitored as per the regulations of UGC. Find a list of terms and conditions highlighted below.

• Under the MANF scheme, the duration of the fellowship is two years in the initial period. And before this period expires, the research work of the fellow is evaluated. On finding the work satisfactory, the tenure is further extended for a period of three years under MANF Senior Research Fellowship.
• In case of application of any fraudulent method in obtaining the fellowship, automatic cancellation of MANF is initiated and the disbursed amount is recovered with interest.
• The awardee cannot undertake any kind of employment such as Ad-hoc teachers, Teaching Assistants or Research Assistants. This leads to cancellation of the fellowship.
• The beneficiaries’ bank account numbers are validated through PFMS for the creation of beneficiary ID.
• The awardee of MANF is liable for a maximum of 30 days of leave per year in addition to public holidays.
• The candidates are also eligible for maternity and paternity leave once as applicable under the rules of Government of India.

MANF – Contact Detail

In case of any query regarding Maulana Azad National Fellowship, the applicants can submit their question at the email ID mentioned below:
Email ID – sosa3ugc@gmail.com

Also, read ‘INSPIRE Scholarship: Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)’ to know about other research-related fellowships/scholarships.

If you wish to know more about scholarships for minority students, read ‘MOMA Scholarships: Minority Scholarships’.