Objective :

The SERB-National Post Doctoral Fellowship ( N-PDF) is aimed to identify motivated young researchers and provide them support for doing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. The fellows will work under a mentor, and it is hoped that this training will provide them a platform to develop as an independent researcher

Eligibility :

• The applicant should be an Indian citizen
• The applicant should hold a Ph.D. degree in Science or Engineering, or M.D or M.S degree in any area of medicine
• The applicant must have obtained Ph.D/M.D/M.S degree from a recognized University, not before two years from the date of application. Those who have submitted their PhD/M.D/M.S thesis and are awaiting award of the degree are also eligible to apply. However, such candidates, if selected, will be offered lower fellowship amount till they qualify the eligible degree
• The upper age limit for the fellowship is 35 years at the time of the submission of application. Age relaxation of 5 (five) years will be given to candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/Physically Challenged & Women candidates

Nature & Duration of Support :

• The fellowship is tenable only in India and can be implemented in any of the recognized academic institutions, national laboratories and other recognized R & D institutions. The host institution should provide necessary administrative and infrastructural support
• The fellowship is normally not availed at the same institution where the candidates have earned their PhD/M.S/M.D degree or with the doctoral thesis supervisor as the mentor
• The fellowship is purely a temporary assignment, and is tenable initially for a period of 2 years. In exceptional cases, depending on the progress of research, the fellowship can be extended for one more year. There is no provision to extend the tenure beyond three years
• The fellows will be entitled to receive the grants as given below:

Sl. No.	Budget Head	Amount
1.	Fellowship	Rs. 55,000/- per month (consolidated) Rs. 35,000/ p.m for candidates who have submitted the thesis but degree not yet awarded
2.	Research Grant	Rs. 2,00,000/- per annum
3.	Overheads	Rs. 1,00,000/- per annum

 

• Research grant can be used for minor equipment, consumables, contingencies and domestic travel. There is no provision for providing manpower support under this scheme. The Fellow is expected to undertake the research objectives by himself/herself during the entire duration of the fellowship
• The fellows are not eligible to receive any other fellowship from any Government or Non-Governmental source during the tenure of the fellowship
• The fellows must seek the consent of SERB if he/she intends to be away from the implementing institute (except for field work related to the project) continuously for a period more than eight weeks.

Selection & Mode of Application :

• The call for applications for SERB-N PDF will be notified twice a year through the websiteswww.serbonline.in and www.serb.gov.in
• The application form along with a research proposal highlighting the objectives of the research work to be undertaken should be submitted online through the website www.serbonline.in
• The applicant must identify a suitable Mentor under whom the proposed research would be carried out
• The selection will be based on the recommendations of an Expert Committee that will be constituted by the SERB. If required, the applicants may be called for personal interview

How to apply online :

For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted:

• Applicants should first register into the online website www.serbonline.in click here to register
• After log-in, applicants are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile, which includes Bio data, photo, Institute Address, etc
• Details including Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters) should be provided online at the time of submission of the application
• Work Methodology and Research plan has to be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 3 pages (max 10 MB).
• For details one may visit http://serbonline.in/SERB/npdf

Documents required (in PDF) should be in prescribed format :

• Biodata (under user profile section) Download template
• Age Proof Certificate
• Qualification Certificate
• Category Certificate (in case of Age Relaxation)
• Undertaking Certificate by the applicant Download template
• Endorsement Certificate from the Mentor & Host Institute Download template

Termination of the Fellowship :

• If any fellow wishes to terminate the fellowship, he/she shall inform the SERB through the mentor and host institute immediately. The implementing institute should not incur any expenditure from the date of termination of the project or the date of resignation of PI. The institute will also arrange for submission of documents mentioned above.
• SERB reserves the right to terminate the Fellowship at any stage if it is convinced that appropriate progress is not being made or the grant has not been utilized properly.

Leave :

SERB PDFs are entitled to leave as per rules of the host institution. Participation in scientific workshops held in India or abroad will be treated as on duty. Maternity leave as per the Govt. of India instructions issued from time to time would be available to female candidates in all categories

The contact details of Programme Officers are given below: