According to UGC, stakeholders have till February 8 to claim their pending fellowships

New Delhi: A notice about the outstanding fellowship claims from fellows and postsecondary educational institutions has been issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC). According to UGC’s official announcement, all parties involved are expected to complete any outstanding payments on the Scholarship Fellowship Management Portal (SFMP) by February 8, 2024. They won’t be able to file any claims for the outstanding balance after the deadline.

Prior to this, the UGC has expanded the number of Post Doctoral Fellowships, Senior Research Fellowships, and Junior Research Fellowships (JRFs). The new fellowships took effect on January 1, 2023.

The UGC statement stated: “Public Notice Dated 16.10.2023 regarding Revision in Fellowship Rates with Effect from 1,1,2023 is Invited for Your Attention.” Stakeholders (HEIs and Fellows) are asked to utilize the Scholarship Fellowship Management Portal (SFMP) by February 8, 2024, to collect any outstanding payments, such as pre-revised/revised fellowship, home rent allowance, and contingent admissible until December 2023. The UGC will not accept any claims for the period ending in December 2023 after February 8, 2024.”

In addition, the commission has requested that the institutions submit by January 31, 2024, Utilization Certificates or Statements of Expenditure and any associated fees for the period ending June 30, 2026, if applicable, to the commission. After January 31, 2024, the university body will not entertain any claims.

UGC has been offering a number of offline scholarship and fellowship programs till June 30, 2016. By January 31, 2024, HEIs are asked to submit their Utilization Certificates/Statements of Expenditure and any outstanding payments for the period ending on June 30, 2016. No claim would be accepted by the UGC after January 31, 2024,” the statement said.