MANF Fellowship 2020: The Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority candidates is established and financed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The fellowship is available to aspirants who belong to one of the Minority Communities, i.e. Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian & Jain. The aspirants should be pursuing higher studies such as regular and full-time M.Phil/Ph.D. degrees in Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities and Engineering/Technology. The reservation of seats for differently-abled candidates shall be made as per the terms designed by the Government of India.
The aspirants pertaining to one of the minority community who has qualified the CBSE/UGC-NET/ CSIR-NET will be acceptable for award of MANF. To be eligible for the reward, the aspirant should have cleared the post-graduation examination with a minimum of 55% marks. There are 1000 openings with impact from 2018-19 in all areas of knowledge.
Graduate, Post Graduate Students and Research Fellows can also find more Fellowship Articles to explore various fellowships across India to know the funding opportunities.
MANF Objectives
The purpose of the plan is to present integrated five-year fellowships in the kind of financial support to candidates from minority communities, as announced by the Central Government to continue higher education such as M.Phil. and Ph.D. at Indian Universities/Institutions/Colleges included under section 2(f) of UGC Act. and considered to be Universities involved under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 and available to get grants-in-aid from UGC.
MANF Eligibility Criteria
An aspirant has to meet the following requirements to be qualified for the reward of this fellowship:
- Earlier passing of CBSE/NTA-UGC-NET/ CSIR-NET exams will be a requirement for the reward of the fellowship.
- The aspirant should be one of the minority communities (Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi & Jain).
- The aspirant should present the minority community certificate and authorised valid affidavit till the State Government/Union Territory government begins to circulate the minority community certificate.
- The aspirant should be listed for regular and full-time M.Phil/Ph.D programs in University/Academic Institution by satisfying conditions of admission of the particular University/Institution.
- The annual income of the family of the candidate should not be more than Rs. 6 lakh annually from all sources. The aspirant should present the family’s or his/her income certificate circulated by the appropriate Authority.
- The aspirant should have obtained minimum marks or an aggregate of 55% at the Postgraduate level.
- Transgender aspirants are also eligible.
MANF Duration
Maulana Azad National Fellowships have integrated five-year programs for M.Phil and Ph.D. courses to academic conditions in force for choice to the Ph.D. course.
The MANF duration is given below
| Name of the course | Maximum Duration |
| M. Phil | 2 years |
| M.Phil + Ph.D | 5 years |
| Ph.D. | 5 years |
Admissibility of JRF and SRF
| JRF | SRF |
| 2 years | Nil |
| 2 years | Remaining 3 years |
| 2 years | Remaining 3 years |
MANF Fellowship Amount
The amount of fellowship for JRF and SRF scheme will be as per the UGC fellowship as altered from time to time. Currently, the amount for this fellowship as follows:
| Fellowship | Rs.25,000/- per month for the initial two years (JRF) Rs.28,000/- per month for remaining tenure (SRF) |
| Contingency for subjects: Humanities and Social Sciences and Commerce | Rs.10, 000/- per annum for the first two years. Rs.20, 500/- per annum for the remaining three years |
| Contingency for Science | Rs.12, 000/- per annum for initial two years Rs.25, 000/- per annum for the remaining three years. |
| Escorts/Reader Assistance | Rs.2,000/- per month in case of physically and visually challenged aspirants |
MANF Application Procedure
The applications are available via online mode every year through a short announcement on the UGC website and publication in leading assigned newspapers. A short announcement will also be issued on the UGC website. www.ugc.ac.in. The Expert Committee will not accept incomplete application forms. Below are the details that aspirants have to fill in the application form:
Applicant’s Status
- aspirant’s domicile state
- Community/Caste
- Parent’s Annual income less than or equal to 4.5 lacs (Yes/No)
- Physically handicapped (Yes/No)
Personal Information
- Name of the aspirant
- Gender
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Father’s name
- Mother’s name
Contact Information
- Present Address
- City/Town
- State
- Pin code
- Email address
- Contact Number
Post-Graduate Qualification
- Enter name of the Examination/Degree, i.e. M.A/. M.Sc. / M.Com
- Passing year
- College/University Name
- Enter the subject name in which you have completed your post-graduation, i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Economics, etc.
- Division (1st,2nd,3rd)
- Percentage (Aggregate)
Some other details which an aspirant has to specify are:
- Details of college/institute where he/she would like to persevere M.Phil/Ph.D. Degree
- Provide information of research topics for pursuing M.Phil/Ph.D. degree
- Supervisor Details
- Scholarship Details (If availing at present)
- Employment Details (if employed presently)
MANF Selection Procedure
- UGC shall verify online applications received within a given time frame on the designated web portal concerning the eligibility criteria as put down in the guidelines.
- An Expert Committee will consider complete online applications established by the Commission. The judgment of the Commission will be final. The Commission holds the right to withdraw or cancel the fellowship without specifying any reason. The result shall be announced on the UGC website.
- The chosen awardee will be provided to download the grant letter from the preferred web portal.
- After downloading the reward letter, the candidate has to join the fellowship from the 1st of April of the current year.
Condition for Cancellation of MANF
The MANF fellowship could be cancelled under the following conditions:
- If any aspirant is obtaining Maulana Azad National Fellowship for minority candidates in a fraud way, the cancellation should be automated and the amount distributed shall be seized with interest at current State Bank of India rate for candidate loans.
- If the candidate is caught with any misconduct.
- Disappointing progress of research work.
- The aspirant is later found unsuitable on account of wrong information given in the online applications.
- An aspirant is already getting a scholarship/fellowship from another source.
FAQ’s on MANF
Question 1.
What is Maulana Azad Fellowship?
Answer:
The Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority candidates is established and financed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The purpose of the plan is to present integrated five-year fellowships in the kind of financial support to candidates from minority communities, as announced by the Central Government to continue higher education such as M.Phil. and PhD at Indian Universities/Institutions/Colleges
Question 2.
Is net compulsory for MANF?
Answer:
Yes, it is necessary to clear NET for MANF.
Question 3.
Who is eligible for the Maulana Azad Fellowship?
Answer:
Candidates who:
- Belong to the Minority community
- Passed earlier CBSE/NTA-UGC-NET/ CSIR-NET
- Whose overall family income is not more than 6 lacs.
- Passed postgraduate level with 55%.
Question 4.
What is the fellowship reward for JRF and SRF?
Answer:
- Rs.25,000/- per month for the initial two years (JRF)
- Rs.28,000/- per month for remaining tenure (SRF)