The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has emerged as the most preferred destination for students under the lucrative Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) scheme.

Out of the total 119 students selected under the special scholarship programme, 50 students will be pursuing PhD at the IISc, which was placed at the 170th position in the latest world university ranking list published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). 

Of the 50 students, 10 will pursue interdisciplinary PhD programmes in science and engineering, seven in chemistry, five each in electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, four each in civil engineering and physics, three each in aerospace engineering, biological sciences, computer science, and two each in mathematics, chemical engineering, materials science and metallurgical engineering.

According to the final candidate list, students have been selected for PhD programmes at a total of 12 centrally funded institutions, including eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and three Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) besides the IISc.

Seventeen each have been selected for PhD at IIT-Madras and IIT Bombay, 15 at IIT-Kharagpur, seven at IIT-Delhi, four at IIT-Kanpur, three at IISER Pune, one each at IISER Thiruvananthapuram, Indian Institute of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad, IIT-BHU and IISER Bhopal.

The highest number of students (24) have been selected for interdisciplinary PhD programs in science and engineering offered by the IISc, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Madras, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kharagpur and the IISER-Pune. 

The PMRF scheme provides the highest amount of research grants, ranging from Rs 70,000 to 80,000 per month in addition to an annual research grant of Rs 2 lakh per student per year for a period of five years. There is no other comparable government fellowship that provides such huge amount of money.

Though it is a very popular scheme among the students, the number of those qualifying for it continues to be very less.