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Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Senior Research Fellowship 2025

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Eligibility

Ph.D. degree holders

Region

India

Award

₹45,000 per month and an annual contingency grant of ₹40,000

Deadline

Closed

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About The Program

Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Senior Research Fellowship 2025 is offered by the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The scholarship is a prestigious fellowship designed to support senior Indian researchers who have made significant contributions to social science research through outstanding publications and research work. Selected fellows will receive a fellowship ₹45,000 per month and other benefits.

Source: icssr.org

EligibilityDeadline Date: Closed

To be eligible, an applicant must:-

  • be an Indian citizen
  • be between 45 and 70 years of age as of the last date of application
  • hold a Ph.D. degree and have the necessary competence to conduct research in social sciences or allied disciplines
  • have outstanding research publications, including books published by reputed publishers
  • be affiliated with an ICSSR Research Institute/Regional Centre, Institute of National Importance approved by the Ministry of Education (MoE)/government, research institute, or public-funded university (including deemed universities) of their choice

Note:-

  • While accepting the ICSSR fellowship, a fellow should not accept any other fellowship or research project or regular assignment from any other institution.
  • The scholar should not have been subjected to any disciplinary/legal action/proceedings/financial penalties in their career.
Benefits

The value of the fellowship for unemployed and superannuated scholars is ₹45,000 per month. Additionally, they will receive a contingency grant of ₹40,000 per annum, irrespective of any pensionary benefits they may be receiving.

Under salary protection, fellows are entitled to their regular salary and allowances as per their institution's rules, along with a contingency grant of ₹40,000 per annum. However, special allowances such as children's education allowance, medical reimbursement, and LTC are not provided by the ICSSR. These may still be offered or reimbursed by the parent institution according to its policies.

The ICSSR will also pay leave salary and contribute towards pension, Central Provident Fund (CPF) and gratuity for the fellow during the fellowship period following the rules of the parent institution.

Documents
  • Research proposal in either Hindi or English (Note:- Use Unicode 8 (UTF-8) to fill the form in Hindi)

Upon completion of the fellowship, the scholar is required to submit the following documents - 

  • A book-length final report, along with a summary of the report in 3,000-4,000 words
  • Two published research papers, preferably in Scopus-indexed or UGC care-listed research journals or edited books on the theme of the research undertaken

Note:- These documents are required to be submitted in hard copy (two copies of the final report and two copies each of the summary and research articles) and a soft copy.

How can you apply?

Eligible applicants can apply by following these steps:-
Step 1: Click on the 'Apply Now' button below.
Step 2: Click on the 'Register' button and fill in the required registration details (Note:- If already registered, log in using Gmail/Mobile number/Email ID).

More Details
Important Dates

Application Deadline: 10 November 2025

Selection Criteria

The selection of candidates will follow the procedure outlined below:

  • Initial Screening: Applications will be scrutinised and shortlisted by a screening committee.
  • Merit-Based Shortlisting: Subject-specific expert committees will further shortlist meritorious proposals from the eligible applications.
  • Expert Interaction: Shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their proposals and interact with an expert committee.
  • Recommendation and Approval: Following the interaction, the expert committee(s) will prepare recommendations for the award, which will be submitted to the relevant committee(s) for approval.
  • Announcement of Results: The list of selected candidates will be uploaded on the ICSSR website.
Important documents
Research Proposal (Format)Fellowship Detail Document'Research Proposal (Form)Forwarding Letter by the Head of Affiliating Institution/University (Format)
Terms and Conditions
  • Incomplete applications in any respect will not be considered for the fellowship.
  • A fellow is not eligible for the same fellowship or pay protection more than once.
  • ICSSR follows the Government of India Rules and Directives regarding SC and ST and persons with benchmark disabilities.
  • Fellows who have completed their fellowship duration but wish to continue using the title with their name should prefix 'Former' and suffix the fellowship name with 'the duration', e.g. Former National/Senior/Post-Doctoral Fellow ICSSR (2016-18).
  • The ICSSR expert committee also reserves the right to convert a fellowship proposal into a project proposal. 
  • The fellowship is initially sanctioned for one year, effective from the scholar's joining date.
  • The renewal of the fellowship for the subsequent year is subject to receiving a satisfactory annual progress report and a statement of account for the entire first-year fellowship grant.
  • The fellowship may be discontinued if the fellow's research is unsatisfactory or violates any ICSSR rules.
  • Upon accepting the position, a fellow cannot hold any other fellowship, research project, or regular financial benefit/assignment from any other institution. 
  • The scholar must join the fellowship within one month of the award letter date by submitting all required documents to the affiliating/administering institution. Extensions up to a few months may be granted in exceptional circumstances with prior ICSSR approval. 
  • Faculty with regular service in public-funded universities/colleges and research institutes receiving UGC pay scales may be considered for pay protection in exceptionally meritorious cases, as decided by ICSSR expert committees. 

  • The fellowship can be transferred from one affiliating institution to another upon the scholar's request under special circumstances, subject to ICSSR approval and submission of the following documents:

    • A satisfactory progress report.

    • No-objection certificates from both the previous and proposed universities/institutions.

    • An audited statement of accounts and a utilisation certificate, along with any unspent balance.

 

Note:- For more details of the fellowship, kindly check the 'Fellowship Details'.

Contact Details

In-charge, RFS Division, 
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), 
Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi – 110067
Telephone Number: (+91-11)-26741849/50/51

Important Links
FAQ's

Question: Who is offering the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Senior Research Fellowship 2025 opportunity?
Answer: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Education, Government of India is offering this opportunity.

Question: How much is the fellowship worth?
Answer: The fellowship provides ₹45,000 per month along with an annual contingency grant of ₹40,000.

Question: Who is eligible for the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Senior Research Fellowship 2025?
Answer: Indian citizens aged 45-70 years with a Ph.D. degree and outstanding research publications in social sciences are eligible to apply.

Question: What is the last date to apply for Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Senior Research Fellowship 2025?
Answer: The last date to apply is  10 November 2025.

Question: I am 27 years old. Can I apply for the fellowship?
Answer: No, only fellows whose ages range between 45 and 70 years are eligible to apply.

Disclaimer

  • Source of Information: Buddy4Study app compiles details on scholarships/fellowships from government websites and private scholarship sources. Links to the official sources accompany each listing detail pages.
  • Non-affiliation: The Buddy4Study app is not associated with any government entity in India or elsewhere. When featuring government scholarships, we rely on publicly accessible information from central and state government websites in India.
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