Breather for MPhil, PhD researchers as UGC extends deadline thesis submissions

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the University Grants Commission has decided to give a breather to the MPhil and PhD students by extending their deadlines.  However, there is no extension for the MPhil/ PhD Fellowship 

The deadline for submitting their thesis has been extended to June 30, 2021, according to a statement from the UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain. Their earlier deadline was December 31, 2020.

"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the universities have remained closed for the past several months. Therefore, the students have not been able to conduct their research/experiments in the university laboratories nor they were able to access the library services that are critical for completion of research," reads the notification that was issued on Thursday. 

While the universities and institutes were closed in March, the Ministry of Home Affairs had given a nod to call the researchers back to campus, at the end of September. However, a lot of premier institutes in the country are yet to call back the researchers, owing to the pandemic. As the deadline for submissions was approaching, researchers and professors across the country have been seeking an extension for thesis submission as well as their fellowships. Recently, the JNU Teachers' Association had written to the university, seeking the same. "We request to grant an overall extension to all such persons till such time that conditions for an amicable submission are created, which includes access to libraries and laboratories both within and outside the university for all such scholars," they wrote.