TAGORE NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP FOR CULTURAL RESEARCH

1. Scholars who have sound academic or professional credentials and have made significant contributions to knowledge in their respective fields will be eligible to apply for Tagore National Fellowship. Preferably Scholars who have 5 years of experience in conducting/guiding research or the same experience in performing/any other arts can apply for Tagore National Fellowship. The applicants must have an impressive list of publications into their credit, at least two monographs (single-authored). They are also required to prepare a short write-up on how the proposed research would be beneficial for the respective nodal institution.
2. Scholars to be engaged must have both the credentials as laid down in the preceding paragraph, as well as a strong reputation in the field covered by the Nodal Institution. As the honor and the honorarium are both of a very high order, the Institution Level Search-cum-Screening Committee (ILSSC) of the sponsoring institution and the National Selection Committee may keep these in mind while recommending/ selecting the Tagore National Fellows.
3. Those who have in the past directly engaged with major projects at the Nodal Institution and fulfilled the above-mentioned eligibility criteria for a Tagore Fellow are encouraged to apply for the Tagore National Fellowship.
4. In short, a person selected for the Tagore National Fellowship should be one who has already become a ‘legend’ in his area of work or is regarded very highly. It is appropriate that those who do not come near this description may not apply or be considered for the highest honor and honorarium according to a scholar in India under this Fellowship. Scholarship
5. A scholar with good academic credentials—at least one publication, either a book or a research paper in reputed journals, and 2 years of research/teaching experience will be eligible to apply for the Tagore National Scholarships. This scheme also gives opportunities to young artists/performers to apply for the scholarship.
6. Like Tagore Fellows, the scholars also need to identify a nodal institution from the list given in Appendix B according to their preferences/expertise to conduct original research preferably by using the sources of the same institution. The research work may also include the identification and cataloging of sources available with the institution or archiving and creation of new sources that the institution should have.

Stated amount: 50,000 A scholar with good academic credentials—at least one publication, either a book or a research paper in reputed journals, and 2 years of research/teaching experience will be eligible to apply for the Tagore National Scholarships. This scheme also gives opportunities to young artists/performers to apply for the scholarship. Like Tagore Fellows, the scholars also need to identify a nodal institution from the list given in Appendix B according to their preferences/expertise to conduct original research preferably by using the sources of the same institution. The research work may also include identification and cataloguing of sources available with the institution or archiving and creation of new sources that the institution should have. Honorarium The scholarship honorarium will be Rs. 50,000/- per month. However, if the scholar is from a University, College, Research Institute or Government set-up in India, he/she would be entitled to the same pay, including grade pay, etc., which he/she would have drawn had he/she continued in his/her parent organization. Essential or mandatory contribution of the employer to Provident Fund etc. would be paid by the parent organizations had he/she continued in his/her parent organization. Contingency Grant In case of scholars selected as Tagore Scholars under Non-MoC institutions, will also be paid a contingency grant by the Ministry on ‘actuals basis’ upto a maximum ceiling of Rs. 10,000 per month and such other allowances/benefits provided in this scheme, and to the extent, as may be specifically decided in each case by the ILSCC/NSC (within the limits applicable in the case of Tagore National Fellows), depending on the nature and the duration of the project subject to the verification of the bills by the Nodal Institutions. For Scholar selected under MoC Institutions, the expenditure in this regard will be borne by the concerned MoC Institution from the grant-in-aid received by them from their administrative Division of the Ministry. Duration The duration of Tagore Scholarship is up to 2 years. The scheme envisages granting of upto15 Fellowships and 25 Scholarships in a year. Each nodal institution can be awarded 1 Fellowship and 1 Scholarship or maximum of 2 scholarships in a year. However, the MoC has the discretionary power to relax these numbers. As the number of Fellows/Scholars to be awarded for a particular Participating Institution is limited to 2 (either 1 Fellow and 1 Scholar or 2 Scholars), not more than 06 applications (including both Scholarship/Fellowship) may be forwarded by a Participating Institution for consideration of NSC. Before forwarding the application to nodal agency for consideration of National Selection Committee, the recommendations of ILSSC are required to be examined by the Participating Institute. It is clarified that the attached and subordinate offices under the Ministry of Culture will bear all the expenditure on the Tagore National Fellows and Scholars from within the overall budget allocated to them, while the autonomous organizations (fully funded by the Ministry of Culture) may bear it from within the general pool of funds available with them by way of Annual grants or by internal generation. If additional funds be required by any of them for supporting the Fellows thus engaged, the Ministry of Culture will allot the required additional amount as part of their grant-in-aid allocation in the case of autonomous organizations and make additional budget provision if the institution is an attached/subordinate formation of the Ministry. Non-MoC institutions covered by the Scheme will be provided funds directly from the budget head of this scheme, which will be utilized by them for meeting their expenditure on the Tagore National Fellow(s)/Scholar

1. selected to work for them, and accounted for separately.

The received applications will be examined by the Institution Level Searchcum-Screening Committee (ILSSC) constituted by each participating institution for the purposes of this scheme. The applications found worthy of consideration will be shortlisted by the ILSSC. The eminent scholars who have expertise in the fields according to the subjects of the Scheme would be invited by the Ministry of Culture to join the NSC. Search and Invitation The selection of candidates need not be confined to those who respond to the advertisement only. It is open to the institution to consider, suo-moto, names of eminent scholars, who in the opinion of the institution and members of its ILSSC, have expertise in subjects relevant to it, and invite them to submit their proposal for consideration of the NSC. Alongside, the NSC can also invite any eminent scholar to become a Fellow. It is important to mention here that though the recommendation must come from a respective nodal institution within the prescribed time limit, the recommended application will not go through the scrutiny of ILSSC opted by the applicant/NSC member. However, one NSC member can recommend only one application in a year. In the event of a difference of opinion arising between Board of Trustees/Governing Body of the concerned institution and the National Selection Committee (NSC), the matter may be settled at the level of Minister of Culture. Process of Selection i. An Institution Level Search-cum-Screening Committee (ILSSC) will be constituted by each institution. Director or the Head of the institution will be the Convener of the ILSSC and it will have at least three academics or cultural experts and not more than two officials. Depending on the availability of officials in the institution or allied institutions in the same station, effort will be made to ensure that at least one of the two officials nominated to the ILSSC is a professional/subject expert. In the case of autonomous institutions, the ILSSC will be constituted by the institution with the approval of its Governing Body/ Board of Trustees. If, however, no meeting of the Governing Body/ Board of Trustees takes place or it is not possible to take their approval, the ILSSC may be constituted with the approval of the Chairman and placed for ratification of the Governing Body/ Board of Trustees, whenever it meets next. The attached/ subordinate offices will be expected to constitute the ILSSC from amongst the members of their Advisory Boards/ Committees, to the extent possible, and with the approval of Ministry of Culture in the concerned administrative Division. An expert can either be a member of the ILSSC or the NSC (An expert cannot be part of both the Committees). ii. The selection will be based on the relevance of the study, benefits of the nodal institution from that particular study and also the credentials and reputation of the scholar. Only such proposals may be selected that seek to

1. engage scholars who have achieved national or international recognition and proven acceptance of their work in national/ international circles;(b) bring out resources that are not yet fully out in the public domain; and
2. publish the work for the benefit of the concerned institution. The selection will be done in two stages. iii. The first stage will be of short listing of projects and candidates by the ILSSC, according to the criteria broadly specified as part of the Searchcum-Screening process. Apart from considering the applications received, the ILSSC is also expected to adopt a pro-active approach to identify relevant projects and search reputed scholars of that field, contact such scholars and encourage them to submit their proposals. If the received proposals are not worthy of consideration, the ILSSC need not feel compelled to recommend any proposals for consideration of the NSC. To identify appropriate areas/ research projects and search for suitable scholars who may be able to do those research projects will be part of ILSSC’s mandate. The ILSSC can do so on the personal knowledge of its members and/or solicit the advice of other knowledgeable/ eminent persons in the field, including the members of the Governing Body/ Board of Trustees of the institution and of various expert committees constituted by the Ministry of Culture. The main purpose of going through the ILSSC is to ensure that the highest standards are maintained in the selection of the projects and the scholars so that the brand equity of the Scheme is not compromised. The ILSSC/Head of the Nodal Institution also needs to examine that how each shortlisted project is going to be beneficial for the respective nodal institution and send a write- up on that to the NSC. iv. At the second stage, applications/names of short-listed candidates will be considered by the NSC for each institution. Secretary (Culture) will be the Convener of the NSC, and the Director or Head of the institutions will be its ex-officio Members. The other members of the NSC will be scholars or artistes of repute, or experts who may be appointed by the Ministry of Culture. The NSC will meet at least twice a year, to oversee the selection of Fellows / Scholars and the administration of the Fellowships /Scholarships. The NSC may be constituted and function in different Groups, each Group of the NSC looking at proposals of a particular Group of Institutions.