New Delhi: India will award 416 fellowships to African researchers in top Indian institutions in areas from biotechnology to forestry. During the launch of C.V. Raman International Fellowship for African Researchers, Prithviraj Chavan, Science and Technology Minister announced that they not only want to intensify relations at political and trade level with Africa, but also at the scientific and academic levels.
As per sources, eight fellowships in three categories, will be offered to each African country - making a total of 416. The three categories are of senior fellowship of one-month duration, visiting fellowship of three months duration and a postdoctoral fellowship of six months to one year. The objective of the fellowships will be to offer opportunity to conduct, under the guidance of their host in India, collaborative research in universities and other Indian institutions in various areas of science and technology.
Further, the fellowship application will have to be made to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which is the coordinator of the programme. A panel established by the Indian government’s department of science and technology will make the selection. Over 240 Indian institutions have been included in the programme, ranging from the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).
