IIT, IISC Research Scholars To Protest In Front Of HRD Ministry Demanding 100 Per Cent Increase In Stipend

Research scholars from across several institutions like IISC’s and IIT’s in India have planned a protest outside the HRD Ministry on 21 December to demand an increase in their monthly, reports Indian Express.

Earlier, letters signed by several scholars were sent to MHRD, UGC and Department of Science and Technology. The currently monthly stipend stands at Rs 25,000 for an IRF fellow and Rs 28,000 for an SRF fellow. The demands include a stipend increase of 100 per cent, along with its timely disbursement.

Abdul Ali, a scholar from IIT-Bombay was quoted as saying, “Since I have joined the research, apart from the inflation, there has been a hike of mess fee, semester fee and other expenses well. The mess fee alone has increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 27,000 since then, but our stipend has remained the same. This hike is needed for our basic day to day expenditure.”

The students have also protested against PMRF fellows receiving higher stipend of Rs 75,000 per month. IISc’s student council chairperson Vivek Sharma was quoted as saying, “We understand that there is a selection criterion for PhD students under PMRF which allows them to explain the relevance of their research.”

“But we are not even given that chance. The MHRD should hold national-level interview sessions for all PhD students and whoever has the most socially relevant topic with social impact and has clarity of research path should also be considered ‘cutting-edge’”, he added.