Award of Senior/Junior Fellowships to Outstanding Persons in the Fields of Culture 2026‑27

The Senior and Junior Fellowships to Outstanding Persons in the Fields of Culture fund research projects in culture. The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), under the Ministry of Culture, runs the scheme. CCRT under the Ministry of Culture is inviting off-line applications from Indian Nationals for the award. The fields are performing, literary and plastic arts, and new areas such as Indology, Epigraphy and Numismatics.

The 2026-27 round is closed. The last date for submitting the completely filled application form by post or by hand was 31 July 2026. Senior Fellowships carry a value of Rs. 20,000 a month for artistes above 40 years, for a maximum period of two years. Junior Fellowships carry Rs. 10,000 a month for ages 25 to 40.

What you get

It is not a monthly remuneration, stipend or pension. It is a project-based award. You use it to carry out one research project. All awards are disbursed by the Central Government, directly.

A one-time grant of up to Rs. 20,000, or 50% of the publication cost if that is less, can be given for publishing selected project documents. Only 20% of awardees can get it.

Who can apply

• Indian nationals only. CCRT is inviting applications from Indian Nationals.
• Senior: age above 40. For the Batch Year 2026-27, age is determined by birth on or before 01-04-1986. Age is counted as on 1st April of the year.
• Junior: age 25 to 40. Check the birth-date window in the 2026-27 Junior instruction on the CCRT notice page before you apply.
• Graduation is required for the New Areas, such as Indology, Epigraphy and Sociology of Culture. Graduation is the minimum educational qualification for applicants applying in the Field of New Areas and their Sub Fields. The official text I read sets no degree rule for the performing, literary and plastic arts fields.
• Senior applicants must not receive a pension under the Ministry’s scheme for artistes in indigent circumstances. Applicant for senior Fellowship should not be the recipient of pension from Ministry of Culture under the scheme for grant of financial assistance to artistes in indigent circumstances.
• If you have already had this fellowship, you cannot apply again. A Senior Fellowship applicant should never have availed of Senior Fellowship in any of the fields earlier.
• If you are employed, apply through your employer. Applicants who are employed will have to apply through the proper channel.
• Not eligible: training, workshops, seminars, memoirs, autobiographies or fiction. These Fellowships are not intended for providing training, conducting workshops, seminars or documenting memoirs or writing autobiographies, fiction, etc.
• The official sources I read set no family income limit, marks cut-off or category quota.

How to apply

1. Open the CCRT notice page for the 2026-27 batch. It holds the advertisement, the instructions and the application forms.
2. Download the Senior or Junior application form from the Ministry’s application form page.
3. Write a project synopsis of 1,000 to 1,500 words in English or Hindi. Project synopsis for the Field of Literature can be sent in the applicant’s regional language.
4. Send the filled form and synopsis by post or by hand to the Director, CCRT, 15-A, Sector-7, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075.
5. Keep a printout of the filled form for the interview. Applicants must keep a print-out of the filled application form for the interview or personal talk, along with their detailed project proposal.

For 2026-27, only offline applications will be accepted. The Ministry’s general scheme text still mentions online submission, so follow the 2026-27 notice. Incomplete applications in any respect will be rejected summarily. For help with the form, email fellowship.ccrt@nic.in or call 011-25088747.

Documents you need

• The filled application form, printed, for the interview.
• A detailed project proposal, to carry to the interview.
• If you are employed and shortlisted, a NOC or consent letter from your employer. At the time of interview, the shortlisted applicants who are employed must also bring a NOC/Consent Letter from their employer.
• If you work for a government department, institution or university: If selected, they will have to take leave for two years for the grant of the Fellowship. At the interview, they should also submit a written assurance from their Head of the Department.
• Other documents will be notified to shortlisted candidates separately. Other documents that the candidates will have to bring at the time of interview/personal talk will be separately notified to the shortlisted candidates.

How students are selected

• A preliminary screening comes first. The Ministry has published the list of applicants shortlisted at this stage for the 2026-27 Senior round. These are the applicants shortlisted at the preliminary screening stage whose synopses will be placed before the Expert Committee.
• An Expert Committee will evaluate all the applicants on the basis of their applications and project proposals.
• Senior: candidates fulfilling the eligibility criteria will be called for an interview/personal talk by the Expert Committee. Shortlisted candidates are told the date and venue on the email address provided by them in their application form.
• Junior: Short-listed Junior Fellowship candidates will be called for an interview/talk by the Expert Committee. The Ministry’s general text says no interview is needed for Senior candidates, but the 2026-27 Senior instruction calls them for one. Follow the 2026-27 instruction.
• Selected names are posted on the CCRT and Ministry websites. The names of the candidates finally selected will be posted on the website of CCRT and Ministry of Culture after the selection process is completed and the selection is approved by the Ministry of Culture.
• For the 2025-26 batch, the Expert Committee met from 20th January to 3d February, 2026 (Senior Fellowship) and 16th February to 2nd March, 2026 (Junior Fellowship).

Renewal

The official sources I read do not describe a renewal. Each award runs for a maximum of two years. Fellows must send six-monthly progress reports. In case such reports are not received on time, further disbursement of the Fellowship amount will be withheld. The 2025-26 Junior instruction adds a review: a mid-term review or assessment of the progress will be carried out after one year, and further continuance will depend on it.

Finish the project within two years and send it to CCRT by post. Extension of time by maximum three months will be permissible without any additional financial liability to the Government. If a fellow is later found ineligible, the Fellowship will be cancelled and the money released will be recovered.

Important dates

• 2026-27 batch: applications closed on 31 July 2026, for both Senior and Junior fellowships.
• 2025-26 Junior batch: 1st December, 2025 is the last date for receipt of applications offline only.
• 2025-26 selection: the Expert Committee met in January to March 2026, as shown in the selection section above.
• Next round: applications for award for Fellowship will be invited every year, through advertisement. The sources I read do not give a date for the next round.