12 Fellowship Programs For Indian Youth Not to Be Missed!

The article lists some of the best and the most rigorous fellowship programmes available for the youth  in India. 

1) Teach for India Fellowship– Teach For India is a part of ‘Teach for All’ global network. The program is a 2 year full-time for most promising graduates and professionals to work as a full-time teachers in under-resourced and low-income schools. The Fellows will be provided an opportunity to develop themselves as leaders and simultaneously transform the lives of the children while enhancing their own technical skills and leadership skills.

Fellows will be full-time staff members of the schools in which they are placed and will work stipulated school hours six days a week as well as attending training and support sessions as per city requirements. There are four application rounds each year. Indian youths who have completed his/her undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s degree equivalent) from an accredited college or university can apply. 

For more information, visit here

2) The Youth for India Fellowship Program, SBI: The Youth for India (YFI) accepts applications for fellowship programme supported by the State Bank of India (SBI). The programmes require the fellows to stay in the rural areas near project site. The training will be provided to the fellows on different fields. The duration of the program is of 13 months. The Fellows will get a Stipend of Rs 15000 per month plus other benefits by SBI.Young Professionals or Fresh Graduates in India with Age 21-32 can apply online.

For more information, visit here.

3) Young India Fellowship- The Young India fellowship (YIF) is a one-year multidisciplinary post-graduate program which brings together 100 young girls and boys from around the country and launches them on their leadership journey by opening their mind to a rich and diverse set of subjects and perspectives, delivered by some of the finest teachers from around the world.

Fellows will be provided with a monthly stipend of Rs. 15,000 for living expenses. Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin between 20 to 28 years of age can apply online for these fellowships.

For more information visit here

4) Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship- The LAMP fellowship provides bright young Indian citizens to have a high-impact engagement with the policy making process at a national level by placing one legislative assistant to work with one Member of Parliament. The LAMP Fellows are engaged full-time for eleven months to work with the assigned MP from the beginning of the monsoon session to the end of the budget session of Parliament. Throughout the eleven months, the LAMP Fellow works closely with the MP, providing extensive research support for his/her parliamentary work. (For details, visit here)

5) William J Clinton Fellowship- The Fellowship pairs a select number of highly skilled young professionals with leading NGOs and social enterprises in India in order to accelerate impact and create effective projects that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable. Through ten months of service and fieldwork, Fellows gain knowledge of development on the ground in the fields of education, livelihoods, public health, and social enterprise, honing and harnessing their growing skills as change agents capable of effecting lasting change. Together, fellows and development sector leaders form dynamic partnerships, to exchange knowledge and skills while sharing their passion and commitment to open new ways of looking at the world — ultimately transforming both the individual and organization.

For more information visit here

6) Gandhi Fellowship- The Fellowship is an intensive 2-year rural residential program that helps talented young people develop the leadership skills necessary for positive change in society. The Fellowship challenges these young people to support primary school headmasters to transform their schools. In the process, Fellows discover what they want to do with their own lives and how to go about converting their ideas into reality. During the 2 years of the Fellowship, the fellows will be assigned 5 schools each. The fellows have to bring about a significant transformation in these schools.

For more information visit here

7) Prime Minister’s Rural Fellowship- PMRD Fellowship is an initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) where the focus is to reduce poverty and improve the lives of people in rural India. During the two-year duration of the Fellowship, PMRD Fellows will work closely with District Magistrates of backward and remote districts in improving programme delivery and interface with marginalized sections, aiming to reduce the developmental and governance deficits. Fellows will also participate in a post graduate degree programme through e-enabled distance learning and contact sessions leading to M.Sc/M.Phil in Development Practice, to be conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). Immediately after successful completion of the two year fellowship, a PMRD Fellow is required to spend one year in public service as a paid full-time employee of the State Rural Livelihood Mission in the state she/he is assigned to. 

For more information, visit here

8) Azim Premji Foundation Fellowship Program- The Fellowship is an opportunity for you to explore various dimensions of education, and to discover if this is your calling. It is a 2-year full-time program, where a fellow will get to understand and experience the realities of rural Government schools. The fellowship involves-

•  5 weeks classroom module to strengthen conceptual understanding of education and development issues
•  22 months of intense field engagement at the grass roots level in the district institutes of the foundation.
•  Working on a live project that has significant purpose of improving quality at practice level.

For more information visit here

9) The Amar Ujala Foundation’s Atul Maheshwari Scholarships for Underprivileged Children in India:  The Amar Ujala Foundation's Atul Maheshwari Scholarships is a unique scholarship program by Amar Ujala Foundation specially tailored for the students pursuing their education from government institutions, having family income below 1.5 Lakh Rupees.

The students selected through this scholarship program would continue to get scholarship for 3 consecutive years categorized as

•  For 9th & 10th Class Scholarships- Rs 30,000
•  For 11th & 12th class scholarships- Rs 50,000

Eligibility: Applicants must be Indian student having a minimum of 65% in their last qualified exam,  They must be a student of the government institutions in India that comes under Amar Ujala coverage area, The annual family income of the applicant must not exceed 1.5 lakhs.

For more information, please visit here.

10) Ravi Sankaran Fellowships: The Ravi Sankaran Fellowship Program is a biodiversity conservation initiative of the Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation. The Program works with the aims to build capacity by facilitating the training of students in reputed international universities and institutions. The Fellowship also provide small amounts of funding for the initial phases of new and perhaps controversial or risky work in conservation.

The purpose of this Fellowship is to train the student recipients in the science and/or implementation of conservation; and to facilitate interaction with the larger international community of people involved in conservation science and practice. The Program is intended to fund one or two students to work towards a 1-2 yr Masters degree in a reputed academic program in ecology or conservation.

Funding provided: stipend, course fees, one-way international travel.

Eligibility: Indian nationals (who must also be resident in India at the time of applying) holding a Bachelors degree in any subject, below 30 years of age are eligible to apply.

For more information, please visit Here.

11) The Asia Leadership Fellow Program: The Asia Leadership Fellow Program (ALFP) accepts applications from South Asian Professionals each year. The program provides selected leaders in the region with an opportunity to reside for two months at the International House of Japan in Tokyo, and engage in collaborative and individual research/exchange activities.

Eligibility: 

• Applicants can be the citizens of South Asian countries and regions, aged 35 to 59 years.
• Applicant must have a solid background in their own professions and have access to a wide audience in their country or region through publications, teaching, media, performance, etc. to disseminate their thoughts and findings.
• Applicants must be having a certain degree of achievement and having demonstrated outstanding leadership ability or potential.

For more information, please visit Here.

12) Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for SC/ST Candidates: This scheme is initiated keeping in view the social background of the candidates for the deprived section of the society and to provide them opportunity to undertake advanced studies and research. The objective of this award is to provide fellowships in the form of financial assistance to students belonging to SC/ST to pursue higher studies leading to M.Phil and Ph.D degrees in Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences and Engineering & Technology.

This fellowship program is for the SC/ST Candidates who have passed the Post Graduate examination in concerned subject and who desire to pursue research without JRF of UGC-NET or UGC-CSIR NET.

Award-

• 16000/- p.m. for initial two years in Junior Research Fellowship
• 10000/- p.a. for initial two years in Humanities & Social Sciences
• 12000/- p.a. for initial two years in Science, Engineering & Technology
• 3000/-p.a. per student to the host institution for providing infrastructure in all subjects
• 2000/- p.m. in cases of physically handicapped & blind candidates in all subjects
• House Rent Allowance
• Medical assistance when required
• Leave facility

Eligibility:

• Must be from SC/ST background
• Must be Post Graduate
• Must be registered for M.Phil./Ph.D at the first available opportunity but not later than within a period of two years from the receipt of award letter

For more information, please visit Here.