ANNEXURE-I

RAMANNA FELLOWSHIPS

Details of the Scheme

Objective

The objective of Ramanna Fellowship is to offer continued core
financial support to those researchers who have performed excellently well in their ongoing basic research projects of SERC (viz. FAST TRACK Scheme for Young Scientists, Women Scientists Scheme-A, SERC Individual Research Projects, Nano Science and Technology Initiative projects and Swarnajayanti Fellowship projects). For major financial support for their research activities including major equipment and infrastructure creation, however, they would continue to go through the other available schemes of SERC and DST.

Eligibility

All researchers who have received a regular research project from SERC in Basic Sciences and Engineering (viz. FAST TRACK Scheme for Young Scientists, Women Scientists Scheme-A, SERC Individual Research Projects, Nano Science and Technology Initiative projects and Swarnajayanti Fellowship projects) and whose performance in implementing their project has been judged to be "excellent" by the
respective peer-review committees. It is clear that there will be no age limit under this scheme and the scheme will be open to scientists with or without employment.

Elements of Support

The Ramanna Fellows would receive a Ramanna Fellowship per month plus a research grant of Rs. 10 lakh/year for a period of three years.

Ramanna Fellowship:

In case the scientist is employed, the Ramanna Fellowship will be Rs. 5,000/- p.m.

In case the scientist is not in regular employment and has a M.Sc. or equivalent degree, she/he would get a fellowship amounting to 70% of the Swarnajayanti Fellowship amount (at present, Rs. 25,000/- p.m.).

In case the scientist is not in regular employment and has a Ph.D. or equivalent degree, she/he will get a fellowship amounting to 90% of the Swarnajayanti Fellowship amount.

In case the scientist is not in regular employment, and if the Ramanna Fellowship follows a Swarnajayanti Fellowship, she/he will get a fellowship amounting to 100% of the Swarnajayanti Fellowship amount.

A superannuated Ramanna Fellow would receive a fellowship of Rs. 20,000/- p.m. in addition to his retirement benefits.

Research Grant:

The research grant of Rs. 10 lakh per year will be towards hiring of research manpower, national travel (for self, research staff and scientific visitors for consultation), international travel for self for attending one international conference / school/ workshop/ symposium/ scientific meeting per year, consumables, minor equipments, spares, maintenance support and contingencies.

Operational Mechanism

Investigators who have ongoing 3-year individual research projects in
basic sciences and engineering under the SERC umbrella (viz. FAST TRACK Scheme for Young Scientists, Women Scientists Scheme-A, SERC Individual Research Projects, Nano Science and Technology Initiative projects and Swarnajayanti Fellowship projects), and who are confident of excellent output from their project, may submit 5 copies of a proposal for Ramanna Fellowship in prescribed format (Annexure-II) with 15 copies of an Interim Project Completion Report (IPCR) in DST format (available at the website www.serc-dst.org on their ongoing projects 6 months prior to the completion of their ongoing projects. The IPCR will be reviewed by the peer-review committee overseeing the programme and, in the event of its finding the progress made in the project `Excellent', it would examine the proposal for Ramanna Fellowship and make appropriate recommendations. DST would, then, award Ramanna Fellowship to the scientist based on the recommendations of the peer-review committee.

The progress of an ongoing Ramanna Fellowship, thus funded, would be reviewed by DST through the PAC overseeing that area.

The Ramanna Fellow would submit financial-yearwise Utilization Certificates (UCs) and (calendar-yearwise) Statements of Expenditure (SEs) in the DST formats. For example, if a project starts on August 15, 2018, the scientist will submit UC for financial-year 2018-06 and SE till August 14, 2006 immediately after August 15, 2006. The SE will separately show expenditure from August 15, 2018 till March 31, 2006 and April 1, 2006 till August 14, 2006 (as already specified in the DST format available at the website mentioned above). The SE shall include the total annual expenditure including committed expenditure under different heads like Manpower, Equipment, Consumables, Travel, Contingencies, Overheads and Others. DST shall release Rs. 10 lakh minus the unspent balance at the end of the preceding year as the next instalment of grant with complete freedom to the scientist to spend it under different heads as per the needs of the project. The same procedure shall be repeated in subsequent years.

DST shall review the performance of the Ramanna Fellow twice in the three year period, the second one being 6 months prior to the expiry of the fellowship. In the event of the performance of the Ramanna Fellow being “excellent” in the second review, DST shall continue the Ramanna Fellowship for the next 3 years. Submission of a Work Plan for the next three years by the Ramanna Fellow along with the necessary certificates from the parent institution shall be sufficient.

Once a scientist’s performance is not judged to be excellent during the second review of the ongoing Ramanna Fellowship, the fellowship shall not be renewed. She/he would be asked to complete the tenure of the ongoing fellowship. In order to qualify for Ramanna Fellowship again, she/he will have to obtain a regular research project under the other Basic Research funding schemes (mentioned above) and show excellent performance in that.

Ramanna Fellows would be free to apply for regular research projects under other DST schemes for obtaining major grants.  In other words, a Ramanna Fellow may have one or more projects running simultaneously subject to the conditions of the other schemes.

The grantee institution, in which a Ramanna Fellowship is anchored, will provide the necessary administrative and financial support to the scientist within the conditions stipulated in the DST Sanction order. The grantee institution will receive Rs. 1 lakh per year as Overhead Charges from DST.

A Ramanna Fellow would be under the overall administrative control of
the grantee institution.