UGC reopens application for National Fellowship for Persons with Disabilities for 2018-19, 2019-20, last date 19 June

University Grants Commission (UGC) has reopened the portal for receiving applications for National Fellowship for Persons with Disabilities (NFPwD) for 2018-19 and 2019-20. Willing and eligible candidates can apply for the NFPwD fellowship till 19 June 2020. [caption id=“attachment_1371955” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. News18[/caption] Under the scheme, fellowship is provided to students with disabilities who are covered under ‘The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995’ for pursuing research for M.Phil and Ph.D degrees. According to UGC notification, every year the NFPwD is provided to 200 candidates, with 15 per cent reservation to Scheduled Cast (SC) and 7.5 percent reservation for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. The selection is done on merit based on the percentage obtained by the candidates in their post-graduation examination. After the selection procedure, UGC will issue a list mentioning the names of provisionally selected candidates. Applicants can fill the online form by visiting -  https://ugc.ac.in/ugc_schemes. The fellowship is payable for a maximum period of 5 years. According to a report by NDTV, the NFPwD fellowship is provided under both Junior Research Fellow (JRF) and Senior Research Fellow (SRF) schemes. Duration of UGC NFPwD fellowship: M.Phil - 2 years or submission of dissertation whichever is earlier. M.Phil. and Ph.D. - 5 years from the commencement of fellowship or till submission of the Ph.D. thesis, whichever is earlier. Ph.D. - 5 years or till submission of Ph.D. thesis, whichever is earlier. Amount of UGC NFPwD fellowship: Fellowship - Rs. 25,000 per month for the initial two years as JRF after which Rs. 28,000 every month will be provided for the remaining duration as SRF. Contingency (Humanities & Social Sciences including Arts/Fine Arts) - Rs. 10,000 per month for initial two years (JRF); Rs. 20,500 each month for remaining tenure (SRF). Contingency (Science, Engineering and Technology) - Rs. 12,000 every month for the initial two years (JRF) followed by Rs. 25,000 each month for remaining tenure (SRF). Escorts/Reader assistance - Rs. 2,000 a month in case of candidates with physical and visual disabilities. House Rent Allowance (HRA) is also provided as per the norms of the Government of India.