Javadekar gives the researchers a return gift on his birthday, promises to announce the hike today

Dr Anuj Dwivedi, a national representative of research scholars had gone to the Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar's office on Wednesday morning to wish the latter on his 68th birthday. Turns out, the minister had a return gift for the protesting research scholars. He told Anuj, a postdoctoral fellow in National Institute of Plant Genome research that the hike in their research scholars' stipend will be announced today.

"We just had a one-line conversation. Nevertheless, he told me that the hike will be announced today for sure," says Anuj. "I just wanted to meet him and wish him a very happy birthday. The minister was extremely busy. Obviously, a lot of people wanted to meet him," he says. At the same time, there was no mention about the percent of the hike. 

Also Read: Researchers whose discoveries have been celebrated much are also protesting for a hike. Here's why

There were reports that the hike will be announced any day between January 29 and 30 previously. K Vijayaraghavan, the principal scientific adviser of the Government of India had assured the scholars of IIT Delhi about the same on Monday when he had gone there for delivering the foundation day lecture. Sources close to Vijayaraghavan also said that the fellowship hike can be expected any moment on Wednesday. 

The researchers in the country have been protesting for a hike in their stipends since April 2018. In 2014, the government announced a 56 per cent hike in the fellowship and had assured the researchers to revise it every four years.