VTU Jnana Yaana Doctoral Fellowship 2019‑20

The VTU Jnana Yaana Doctoral Fellowship (JYDF) is a monthly fellowship for full-time PhD scholars at Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi. VTU created the scheme to support full-time research scholars who show promise. A scholar gets Rs. 25,000 a month for three years, plus a contingency grant of up to Rs. 20,000 a year. VTU makes up to 40 awards a year.

The newest JYDF rules I could read are the regulations dated January 2020. The 2023 PhD rules say full-time fellowships follow VTU’s own norms. Confirm the current amount with VTU before you plan your budget.

What you get

A 2021-22 VTU document gives the same monthly and contingency figures.

The contingency grant can pay for research stationery, books not held in the library (with approval), travel to conferences and fieldwork, reprints of papers, and other research needs apart from capital goods. Furniture and office equipment are not reimbursed. Unused money does not carry forward.

You stay at the headquarters of your research centre for the whole tenure. A single bed in a university hostel is given if one is free, and you pay the hostel charges. If no bed is free, you may live outside, within 15 km of the centre, after submitting proof of residence.

Who can apply

• Full-time PhD scholars in the latest batch, registered at a VTU research centre in Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Muddenahalli or Mysuru.
• Fields: Civil, Mechanical, Electronics and Communication, Computer Science and Engineering, Nanotechnology, Aerospace Propulsion Technology, Computer Applications and Business Administration.
• PhD holders who want a second PhD on a full-time basis at a VTU centre.
• Indian and foreign candidates. Foreign candidates need English as the medium of instruction.
• Not eligible: scholars who receive money from any organisation, and QIP or FIP teachers who draw a regular salary.

Only candidates who are not employed, or who are sponsored or deputed, can take the full-time PhD route. A fellow must stay on campus for the whole tenure, so taking any job, full time or part time, is barred.

For a PhD seat in engineering, a master’s degree in engineering or technology with at least 6.75 CGPA out of 10, or 60% aggregate marks, is the entry bar. The regulations set no age limit or family income limit for the fellowship.

How to apply

1. First, get a full-time PhD seat at a VTU research centre. VTU admits PhD students through an entrance test called VTU-ETR. Eligible candidates apply for it through VTU’s Jnanashodha portal.
2. Watch the VTU website for the JYDF notification. The regulations say the call is posted there and invites applications from the latest batch of full-time researchers.
3. Send the filled application, in the prescribed format, to the Registrar, VTU, on or before the last date in the notification. Late applications are not entertained.
4. Senior professor-cadre faculty scrutinise applications discipline by discipline. VTU publishes lists of eligible candidates, ineligible applicants and incomplete applications.
5. An Expert Committee shortlists candidates and interviews them.
6. Selected candidates report to their research centre within 15 days of intimation from the Registrar. They sign a bond and send the documents through their research supervisor and centre head to the JYDF Cell. The fellowship starts once the JYDF Cell’s procedure is complete.

Documents you need

The regulations do not give a document checklist. They require a signed bond and all relevant documents, sent to the JYDF Cell through your research supervisor and centre head. Check the notification for the exact list.

How students are selected

An Expert Committee, set up by the Vice Chancellor for each broad area, scrutinises the applications and prepares the interview list. Selection is based on academic merit and a presentation of the research topic before the committee. Fellowships for each area are allotted by merit and the State Government’s reservation roster. Preference goes to applicants who have:

• an industry partner who supports the project financially or as a mentor;
• an interdisciplinary topic;
• a funded project that gives no money to the researcher;
• hardware fabrication, advanced technology, innovative ideas or high commercial potential;
• a supervisor with a good research record.

The Registrar, with the Vice Chancellor’s approval, publishes the selected list and issues award orders.

Renewal

The first sanction covers one year. The second year depends on a satisfactory Doctoral Committee recommendation after the first year. Keep these conditions in mind:

• Send the monthly attendance statement by the 24th of each month. Without it, the monthly amount is not released.
• If the first half-yearly progress review is not satisfactory, the fellowship is withheld. In year one, the withheld amount is released only if the second review is satisfactory.
• In the second year, publish at least one paper in a Scopus, Thomson Reuters or Web of Science indexed journal, or write a book or a chapter. If you do not, the fellowship ends, but you may continue the PhD without it.
• In the third year, publish at least one paper in a foreign journal with a good impact factor, and send a copy to the JYDF Cell.
• Special leave of up to 30 days a calendar year is allowed for conferences and training. Paternity leave of 15 days is allowed once, but not to men with two or more living children. Women may take maternity or child care leave of up to 240 days once, plus an intermittent break of up to one year. No fellowship is paid during a break.
• Unauthorised absence stops the fellowship for that period. Repeated absence is treated as misconduct.

Switching from full-time to part-time ends your eligibility for the fellowship. Quitting the PhD early, without permission, can mean paying back the fellowship and contingency money you received.

Important dates

I could not find a notification with dates for 2026-27, and the regulations do not fix an application window. The VTU Ph.D. page still links to the JYDF regulations, which are the same January 2020 document. The 2026 VTU-ETR entrance test was held on 25 October 2026. PhD admissions are made twice in an academic year. Check the VTU website for the JYDF call and its last date.