Stipend for engineering, science students hiked by 33percent

New Delhi: In a move that comes as good news for research scholars across the country, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has decided to hike the monthly stipend of students in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other central science and engineering schools by 33 percent.

The decision that was communicated by the ministry to all institutions will ensure that pursuing postgraduate studies and research in sciences and engineering will become more lucrative for students.

Not only students from the IITs, but also from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) will be benefited by the massive hike.

According to the letter sent to the HRD ministry to the Directors of the institutions, the revision in the stipend rate will also be applicable to other government and government aided institutions that are funded by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) as well as the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Students who graduated from undergraduate B.Tech programmes at the IITs with a cumulative grade point average of above 8 and those who clear the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) had earlier received Rs.12,000 per month during their PG research..

This stipend had now been increased to Rs.16,000. Also, PG degree holders in basic sciences and students who have qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) will now be given Rs.18,000 a month till their fifth year of Ph.D. research.

Students who already have hold PG degrees in engineering will also receive Rs.18,000 a month for the first two years of research and Rs.20,000 a month for the next two years.