On the occasion of the International Day for Eradication of Poverty which is recognised worldwide on October 17, Tuesday, research scholars at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Uttar Pradesh staged a protest against the stagnant fellowship amount for non-NET researchers in the country.

“Non-NET scholars are the poorest scholars in the research community. We demand that our fellowship amount be hiked to at least Rs 25,000 per month from the existing Rs. 8,000. Fellowship for other research scholars has been getting revised regularly, but there has been no change in non-NET fellowship.” said a research scholar from BHU.

The researchers staged a protest march from BHU main campus to the central office starting at 2 pm on Tuesday.

In the recent past, researchers and researchers’ organisations have highlighted the plight of non-NET researchers several times. The non-NET fellowship has remained unchanged at Rs 8,000/- per month since it was last hiked in 2006.

Several letters have been issued to the University Grant Commission (UGC) by researchers’ organisations and student groups demanding a hike in the non-NET fellowship. 

While the UGC officially announced the revision of the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) in Science, Humanities, Social Sciences and other fellowships, as approved in the 572nd annual meeting held on September 20, there hasn’t been any mention of fellowship hike for the non-NET researchers.

The protestors expressed that the stagnant fellowship amount has led to a ‘financial crisis’ for the non-NET researchers.

The students highlighted that there has been a significant rise in daily living costs since 2006, making it difficult for the scholars to sustain themselves with Rs 8,000. The protest was called off after members of the university administration addressed the protestors and assured them to look into the issue.