Deputy CM Eknath Shinde directs release of PhD and fellowship advertisements within 10 days

Mumbai, Oct 2025 : Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday directed that advertisements for PhD and fellowship programmes under autonomous institutions — BARTI, SARTHI, MAHADBT (Mahajyoti), AMRUT, ARTI, and TRTI — be issued within the next ten days. These advertisements are to be released after the submission of a report by the committee appointed by the Higher and Technical Education Department to set guidelines for granting fellowships and scholarships.

The directive came during a meeting held in the Deputy Chief Minister’s committee room after he took cognisance of the students’ protests over the delay in issuing fellowship advertisements, which have not been published for the last two and a half years.

The meeting was attended by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike, Minister for Other Backward Classes, Bahujan Welfare and Social Justice Atul Save, Minister for Social Justice and Special Assistance Sanjay Shirsat, Principal Secretary to the Deputy CM Navin Sona, Principal Secretary of the Social Justice Department Dr. Harshdeep Kamble, Principal Secretary of the School Education Department Ranjitsingh Deol, Secretary of the Finance Department Shaila A., Secretary of Bahujan Welfare and OBC Department Appasaheb Dhulaj, and student representatives.

During the meeting, students expressed concern that PhD students had not been receiving fellowships or scholarships. Responding to this, the Deputy CM said that the Higher and Technical Education Department had formed a committee headed by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mumbai to frame guidelines for the selection of PhD subjects. Once the committee’s report is received, the advertisement for fellowships will be published within ten days, he assured.

He also emphasised the need for a monitoring mechanism to evaluate the quality and impact of PhD research. He said that it was essential to assess how the research undertaken by students benefits the state. Urging scholars to focus on socially relevant topics, Shinde encouraged research in areas such as climate change, sustainable and toxin-free agriculture, pollution, artificial intelligence, and development of crop varieties resilient to unseasonal rains — studies that could ultimately serve as a boon for Maharashtra’s farmers.