Fellowships & Scholarships

CSIR - Senior Research Associateship (SRA) / Scientists Pool Scheme

This scheme is primarily meant to provide temporary placement to highly qualified Indian scientists, engineers, technologists, and medical personnel returning from abroad and not holding any employment in India. Also, highly qualified candidates who have not been abroad but possess an outstanding academic record and have not been able to secure regular employment here are also eligible for selection. This SRAship is not a regular appointment, but a temporary facility to enable the Associate to do research/teaching in India while looking for a regular position. Selections to this scheme is made by the Special Selection Boards (SSB) constituted for this purpose. Normally, the selection process takes up to 4 months from the date of receipt of application. The case of candidates who have applied from abroad and have not returned to India by the date of the interview is considered in-absentia. Eligibility: i) Indian scientists, engineers, technologist, and medical personnel possessing an outstanding academic record but not been able to secure regular employment. Maximum age limit is 40 yrs. ii) For candidates with PhD in Natural Sciences, 2 yrs of post-doctoral research/teaching experience is required while for Pharmaceutical/ Veterinary Sciences as well as Engineering Sciences, Fresh PhD or thesis submitted candidates are also considered. In the case of Medical Sciences, applicants with MD/MS/MDS or equivalent degree followed by 2 yrs of Residency in Hospital or research experience or equivalent are eligible to apply. In addition, the candidate has to have a minimum qualifying percent of marks at their respective graduate and masters level courses as well as stipulated number of publications in SCI listed Journals. Fellowship amount: The basic pay of a SRA is fixed between Rs.21000 and Rs.25810 per month by the SSB, depending upon qualifications, experience, publications and performance in the interview. In addition, SRAs are entitled to some allowances (such as Dearness Allowance and House Rent Allowance) as admissible to the employees of CSIR. A Contingent Grant of Rs.20000 per annum is also provided. The Associateship is for a maximum period of 3 yrs. SRAs are encouraged to should apply for suitable regular positions in India and leave the Associateship as early as possible. They are also permitted to join ad-hoc/purely temporary assignments in Govt. or public sector organizations, during their tenure in the Pool, on request. Leave without pay on secondment basis, up to 1 yr, is allowed for the purpose but the secondment period is treated as part of the SRA's tenure.

Funding Agency: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt. of India

Area:All Science Disciplines

Purpose: Research

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