Agri university sets record as 9 students bag PM fellowship

LNine students from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) bagged the prestigious Prime Minister Fellowship for doctoral research for the 2024 session. The fellowship is a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative, jointly promoted by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The scheme aims at encouraging young, talented, enthusiastic, and result-orientated scholars to take up industry-relevant research.

Nine students, namely Aman Kumar, Ayush Gupta, Harvir Singh, Pardeep Beniwal, Rajwinder Kaur, Rashmita Saikia, Rutuparna Pati, Saatu Madhu, and Shivani Upadhyay, had brought laurels to the university by winning the fellowship.

Lauding the dedication of the students, Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, said, “It is an extraordinary moment for the PAU to have nine PM fellowships together in its kitty. Behind every student’s great success, there is a devoted teacher who also must be given his due.”

Dr Manav Indra Singh Gill, Dean, Post Graduate Studies, urged the faculty to identify industry for further such associations and provide an amicable working environment to the awardees to conduct their research. “Under this scheme, full-time PhD scholars get double the money than they would otherwise get for research. The maximum stipend for a government fellowship in India at any academic or research institute is approximately Rs 36,400 per month, including house rent allowance (HRA) for the SRF category,” said Dr Gill. “Under the Prime Minister’s Fellowship Scheme for doctoral research, the scholars get double the JRF/SRF as a scholarship (as per applicable slabs),” he said. “The duration of the fellowship is four years,” he added.