Organization : The Indian Council of Medical Research
Fellowship Name : ICMR International Fellowship Programme For Indian Biomedical Scientists
Applicable States : All India
Website : https://main.icmr.nic.in/
ICMR International Fellowship Programme For Indian Biomedical Scientists :
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the premier national agency for the formulation, promotion and conduct of biomedical research in India . The mandate and policies of the ICMR coincide with national health policies. The Council not only plans and promotes medical research in the current and emerging health problems of the country but also is expected to build a strong national cadre of skilled biomedical scientists. One of the major mandates of the Council is to augment capacity strengthening of institutions involved in both basic and clinical sciences.
The world is now witnessing a rapid change in the way biomedical research is conducted. The developing countries are in the grip of formidable challenges posed by the existing communicable diseases coupled with new emerging infections. On the positive side, rapid advances in science and technology have brought in new technologies to understand the disease process and find strategies for prevention and cure. There are areas at the cutting edge of science such as molecular medicine, genomics, immunology, which have revolutionized knowledge for finding rapid diagnostics, vaccines, new drug targets and other therapeutic measures. There is an urgent need that researchers working in the core health sectors like diagnostics, epidemiology, surveillance and cure are exposed to the latest advancements in knowledge and interact with International scientists in their respective field of work.
To achieve the objective of building up of a highly skilled pool of biomedical researchers in all aspects of biomedical research including basic, applied, epidemiological and clinical sciences, the ICMR has embarked upon an International fellowship programme for capacity strengthening of scientists of our country.
Duration Of Fellowships :
Young Scientists: Three to six months
Senior Scientists: Ten to fifteen days
Number Of Fellowships:
Young Scientists: Twelve fellowships per year
Senior Scientists: Six fellowships per year
Financial Support:
Young Scientists:
** US$ 3000 per month which includes accommodation and other expenses.
** Return economy class excursion airfare (by Air India ).
** Contingency grant of maximum of Rs. 20,000/- (which includes the cost of visa, taxi charges from place of duty to airport and back, overseas mediclaim insurance expenses on submission of original receipts/bills on return)
Senior Scientists:
** US$ 200 per day (including US$ 75 as per diem and up to US$ 125 for accommodation expenses, subject to a maximum of US$ 3000 for entire duration of stay).
** Return economy class excursion airfare (by Air India ).
** Contingency grant of maximum of Rs.20,000/- (which includes the cost of visa, taxi charges from place of duty to airport and back, overseas mediclaim insurance expenses on submission of original receipts/bills on return)
Eligibility Criteria:
1. The applicant should be a citizen of India and working in the country.
2. The applicant should possess an M.D/Ph.D degree with at least three years teaching/research experience for Young Scientists and fifteen years for Senior Scientists in a recognized Institute after obtaining the requisite qualification.
3. Age: Below 45 years for young scientists. Below 57 years for senior scientists.
4. The applicant should be employed in a regular position in a recognized Biomedical/ Research/ Health Institution.
5. The application should be forwarded by the Employer/Head of the Institution with a statement that the candidate will be considered as a full time employee of the Institution during the period of his/her fellowship.
6. The applicant should submit a letter of acceptance from the host Institute where he/she proposes to work during the fellowship.
7. The applicant should submit a concrete plan of training pertaining to the project submitted for availing the fellowship.
Guidelines Governing The Fellowship :
1. The individual scientist availing this Fellowship would be addressed as an ICMR International Fellow (ICMR-IF).
2. Fellowship will be awarded each year with the duration ranging from 3 to 6 months to young scientists and for 10-15 days to senior scientists depending on the need of the approved programme.
3. The Young Scientists will be entitled to a monthly stipend of US $3000 and a contingency grant of maximum of Rs.20,000/- (which includes the cost of visa, taxi charges from place of duty to airport and back, overseas mediclaim insurance expenses on submission of original receipts/bills on return). No other charges/expenditure is admissible.
4. The Senior Scientists will be entitled to US $200 per day (including US$ 75 as per diem and up to US $125 for accommodation expenses, subject to a maximum of US $3000 for entire duration of stay). Original receipt for hotel accommodation/guest house will have to be submitted while claiming.
5. For Senior Fellows expenses on visa charges, taxi charges from place of duty to airport and back, overseas mediclaim insurance expenses will be reimbursed as per actual on receipt of original bills on return of Fellow and for which the maximum ceiling would be Rs.20,000/-. No other charges/expenditure is admissible.
6. All necessary formalities with regard to visa application and overseas mediclaim insurance cover should be taken care of by the Fellow and would immediately produce copies of these documents to IHD.
7. The Fellow will be entitled to air travel by Air India (both ways) in economy class (excursion fare) by the shortest route from the place of duty and ticket would be booked/arranged by ICMR.
8. Parent institute shall continue to pay salary and other benefits such as leave, medical gratuity, GPF, pension as applicable to the fellow candidate while he/ she is away for the fellowship. No liability on any of these accounts will be borne by ICMR.
9. The Young Fellow will be required to will/execute a legal/service bond of Rs. 5.00 lakhs to the parent Institute that he/she belongs to and will serve the parent Indian Institute for a period of at least 3 years after return from International fellowship.
10. If the Fellow does not return to India or gets a job overseas on completion of the fellowship or fails to fulfill any of the above requirements, he/she will be liable to reimburse the whole of the expenditure incurred during the fellowship period, including the airfare, from the guarantees in one lump sum within one month of the completion of the term of the Fellowship and remit it to ICMR. An undertaking to this effect on a Rs.50/- non-judicial stamp paper would however be required to be submitted by the guarantees, in case of selection of Fellow.
11. The Fellow should submit a final work report (in the prescribed format) on the research and training activities undertaken in the foreign Laboratory/Institute during the fellowship period. This should be submitted within 2 weeks of his/her return.
12. A progress report (in the prescribed format) evaluating the performance of the Young fellow from the host institution should also be submitted.
13. The fellowship should begin within the same financial year & must be completed before 31st March of the next year. Dates once decided will be treated as final as it involves lot of ground work and processing at ICMR.
14. The candidate should correspond with the International Institute/Laboratory to be visited for their placement. A letter of acceptance from the Institute to be visited overseas is required to be produced along with the application form. Once selected, the Fellow will not be allowed to change the mentor/foreign lab other than the one mentioned in the application.
15. Total claim bills on the budget head of fellowship should not exceed the amount specified above.
16. In the event of cancellation of travel ticket due to change of the date of visit/change of sector of journey or any other reasons, the cancellation charges and difference of fare, if any, will be met by the Fellow.
17. ICMR will not be liable for anything whatsoever including GOI clearances, medical insurance etc., beyond the specified duration of stay (as approved by selection committee) of Fellow in the foreign country.
Selection Criteria :
Screening of applications will be done at the International Health Division, ICMR and the short listed candidates will be considered by the selection committee for awarding the fellowship.
The selection of the candidate will be based on the evaluation of the merit of the candidate and the training needs in the field of Biomedical research by a Committee of eminent scientists.