The "Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana" (KVPY) is a program started in 1999 by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India to encourage students of Basic Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to take up research careers in these areas. The aim of the program is to identify and encourage talented students with aptitude for research.
This program strives to assist the students to realise their potential and to ensure that the best scientific talent is developed for research and growth in the country. Generous scholarship and contingency grant are provided (up to the pre-Ph.D. level) to the selected students. In addition, summer programs for the KVPY Fellows are organized in prestigious research and educational institutions in the country.
The KVPY is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The program is administered by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore). The selection of students from those studying in +1, +2, any U.G. Program in Science / Medicine and also Engineering students having aptitude for scientific research, are carried out by IISc (Bangalore), IIT-Bombay (Mumbai), and ICMR (New Delhi), respectively, in association with two Zonal Centers one at Kolkata (Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Kolkata) and another at Mumbai (HBCSE, TIFR). There are special groups or committees set up at IISc, which screen the applications, conduct interviews at various centers, make the final selection.
The Department of Science and Technology - the nodal agency of the Government has entrusted the overall responsibility for organizing the scheme to the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and set up a National Advisory Committee (NAC) for overseeing its implementation. A Basic Committee and a National Scientific Committee look after both the administrative and academic aspects of the KVPY Program.
Eligibility
These Fellowships are only for Indian Nationals studying in India.
The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, offers attractive fellowships (Rs. 4000 to Rs. 7000 p.m) and contingency grants (Four months fellowship p.a) for students studying in Basic Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Selection to the program takes into account academic excellence and demonstrated interest in pursuing a research career. Selection procedures are different for SP (Basic Sciences) and SP (Medicine). All of them, however, include an interview for final selection.