KSCSTE Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programme(KSCSTEP-DFP)

Overview

About KSCSTEP-DFP

The KSCSTE Post-Doctoral Fellowship pays a Kerala resident with a completed Ph.D. in science or engineering to spend up to two years researching at an institution other than the one where the Ph.D. was done. It is run by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) from Sasthra Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, and the money reaches the fellow through the host institution rather than as a direct benefit transfer.

The myScheme record printed further down this page is older than the rules now in force. It quotes Rs 45,000 plus 10% HRA a month and government hosts only, which are the terms of the 2023-24 guidelines (older guidelines). The revised guidelines, which the programme page applies to new selections after November 2025, pay Rs 60,000 a month, consolidated, and let a qualifying private organisation host the fellow (current guidelines).

KSCSTE built the programme to keep Ph.D. holders in research and help them grow into career scientists. It is meant for someone with no permanent job and no earlier post-doc, who has at least one SCI-journal paper or a secured patent and wants two years of mentored work at a different institution. Proposals compete within four subject groups: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Life Sciences, and Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences (current guidelines).

Three guideline editions sit on the programme page, the 2025-26 one for new applicants and the two older ones under "Ongoing Fellowships", and the terms moved between them:

Who runs it

Provider

At a glance

Key details

Calendar

Important dates

Each guideline edition on the programme page is labelled with an application cycle, and each fixes the age on 1 January of its own year. For 2025-26, the notification set 15 December 2025, 5 p.m. as the last date, and KSCSTE later extended it to 31.12.2025, 5 p.m. As read in September 2026, the programme page still shows that cycle as its latest call.

Once a fellow is selected, the deadlines that matter run from the fellow's own start date:

The terms the fellow signs give the shorter window for the final documents, so two months is the safer working deadline.

Who can apply

Eligibility criteria

The myScheme eligibility list needs two corrections. The host rule no longer reads "Government Institutions only": under the revised guidelines, which the programme page applies to selections after November 2025, a private organisation can host if it meets any two of four requirements, namely registration as a society or trust, accreditation suited to its type (NAAC A grade or above, for instance, where NAAC applies), an NIRF rank under 300 in the year of application, and at least two ongoing State- or Central-funded research projects with a net worth of at least Rs 20,00,000 (current guidelines). The head of that organisation states on a declaration of compliance how many of the four it meets.

The listing's age limit of 40, relaxed by three years for OBC and five for SC/ST candidates, also leaves out its reference date: the current guidelines count it on 1 January 2025.

Fix the host and the mentor before you apply, because the mentor's consent and the head of institution's endorsement are uploads in the application itself. The programme page rules out the institution where you completed the Ph.D., prefers a host in Kerala and accepts only institutions within India; outside Kerala it names IISc, the IITs and IISERs as the kind of institution considered. The Scientist Mentor there must be a permanent employee with a Ph.D. in science or engineering. The current guidelines ask for at least five years of service left before superannuation, while the mentor consent form the mentor signs certifies more than five.

Who cannot apply

Exclusions

myScheme publishes no exclusion list for this scheme, but the guidelines and the applicant's declaration rule out several kinds of candidate:

• Anyone who has already held a post-doctoral fellowship from KSCSTE or any other agency, including KSCSTE's Back-to-Lab fellowship, which the applicant declaration names separately.
• Anyone drawing a salary, fellowship or other emolument on the day of signing. The guidelines bar only permanent employees, but the applicant declaration asks the applicant to affirm being "not an employee of any institution" and not receiving any salary, fellowship or other emolument from any source at present, so a candidate still on a project fellowship or a contract post cannot sign it as written.
• A proposal to work at the institution where the Ph.D. was completed, or at a host outside India (programme page).
• Canvassing in any form, which the current guidelines treat as grounds for disqualification, and inaccurate or false statements, which the applicant declaration says will end the candidature even after an award.

Continuation

Renewal conditions

The fellowship is sanctioned once for up to two years, so there is no second application, but the second year's money is conditional. KSCSTE releases it after the Programme Advisory Committee reviews the annual progress report and the Statement of Expenditure and Utilization Certificate, and releases it in full only if the first year's work has produced at least one paper in an SCI- or Scopus-indexed journal, an acceptance for one, or a patent (current guidelines). Fellows must also present their progress at the Group Monitoring Workshops held periodically, and later releases are subject to that committee's recommendation.

Miss that publication test and KSCSTE pays the fellowship for only the first 9 months of year two. The last 3 months of fellowship and the whole second-year contingency grant are held back until the project is complete, the paper or acceptance is filed, participation in the Kerala Science Congress is proven and the grant is settled (terms and conditions).

On extensions the two official documents differ. The programme page lists the duration as "Up to 2 years (non-extendable)". Section XI of the current guidelines says extension is normally not allowed, then permits up to six months more in genuine cases, with no additional money, if the request reaches the Director at least two months before the scheduled end date. Plan the work for two years and treat any extension as unfunded time.

What you get

Award & benefits

A fellow selected under the current rules receives Rs 60,000 a month, consolidated, for up to two years, plus a contingency grant of Rs 75,000 for each year (current guidelines). "Consolidated" means nothing is added for house rent: the 2024-25 edition on the programme page had already written the same Rs 60,000 as "without HRA" (previous guidelines).

KSCSTE does not pay the fellow directly. The year's grant goes to the Head of the host institution through NEFT (current guidelines), and the institution draws it and pays the fellow monthly; money unspent at the end of a project year is declared in the Statement of Expenditure and adjusted against the next release, and anything left at the end is refunded with interest (terms and conditions).

The fellowship and contingency grant are sanctioned year by year and, under the guidelines, cannot be re-appropriated. The support is not only financial either: the guidelines list a second, technical kind, evaluation and technical advice through the Group Monitoring Workshops (current guidelines).

• The scheme offers a Post-Doctoral Fellowship of ₹45,000/- + 10 % HRA per month along with an annual contingency grant of ₹75,000/-.
• The duration of the Fellowship is limited to a maximum of 2 years.

What to prepare

Documents required

Set against the myScheme list, which follows the 2023-24 edition, the current upload list asks for the applicant's own biodata, capped at two pages like the mentor's, and no longer asks for publication reprints, which the 2023-24 list wanted as full-length papers and the 2024-25 list as first pages only. The applicant's biodata had already been added in 2024-25; all three editions are on the programme page (older guidelines, previous guidelines, current guidelines). The date-of-birth proof may share one file with the category certificate, and the PG mark list one file with the PG certificate.

Five uploads must be on KSCSTE's own templates, all listed on the programme page: the research proposal, the list of publications, the applicant's declaration, the Scientist Mentor's consent and the endorsement from the head of the host institution. The endorsement goes on the host's letterhead and is signed by the Registrar for a university department or the Director for an R&D centre (endorsement format).

The proposal template sets hard word limits: an abstract of at most 300 words with six key words, up to 1000 words on the national and international status of the problem, up to 700 words of methodology and up to 250 words on your own credentials and motivation, with APA-style references (proposal format). It also asks how the outcome matters to Kerala's socio-economic or developmental scenario, so a proposal first written for a national funder needs that section added.

A private host adds four documents, all on KSCSTE formats: a declaration of compliance signed by its head, and three annexures covering research equipment and software, the research profile of its faculty, and the students and faculty doing a Ph.D. there (current guidelines). The older form links on the myScheme record point to a 2019 upload folder that no longer serves the files; the current formats are the ones on the programme page.

Step by step

How to apply

Applications go through KSCSTE's Digital Project Proposal Submission System at submit.kscste.kerala.gov.in, the same portal Back-to-Lab applicants use, and not through the National Scholarship Portal. The sequence runs like this:

1. Settle the host institution and the Scientist Mentor, and collect the signed mentor consent and the head of institution's endorsement.
2. Register a new account on the portal and log in; the portal recommends the latest version of Mozilla Firefox.
3. Fill in the form, choose the subject category and upload every document as a PDF, using KSCSTE's templates wherever the list says "in format".
4. Submit before the notified deadline, which in the 2025-26 cycle fell at 5 p.m. on the closing day.

Technical problems while filling in the form go to isdkscste@gmail.com, the address printed on the portal's login page.

Checking Status After You Submit

The portal's login page says it carries updates on deadlines and evaluation status, so the account you registered is the first place to look. KSCSTE also allots each proposal an Applicant Reference Number, entered by its office on the proposal itself (proposal format); quote it whenever you write to the programme. Shortlisted candidates are called to present before the Programme Advisory Committee, and those it recommends are informed and asked to sign an agreement before the sanction order issues (current guidelines).

Payment status after sanction is a question for the host, not the portal. The e-payment form records the account that receives the grant, which must sit in an NEFT/RTGS-enabled branch, and is signed by the competent authority (DIR/REG/AO/FO on the form) as well as the P.I., so month-by-month disbursal is followed up with the host's accounts office. Within one month of joining, send KSCSTE the Date of Start intimation, which records the sanction order number, the date of start and the due date of completion, with the signatures of you, the mentor and the head of institution.

How winners are picked

Selection process

Selection runs in stages, and a proposal can stop at any one of them (current guidelines):

1. Preliminary scrutiny checks basic eligibility and the supporting documents.
2. Subject experts from within and outside Kerala peer-review the technical merit, each scoring the proposal on a 10-point scale within its subject category. The proposal's rank is the average of its best three scores, and only proposals at or above a category-specific cut-off go further.
3. Each proposal above the cut-off is presented to KSCSTE's Programme Advisory Committee (PAC), and one or two peer reviewers join that panel for the hearing as extra subject experts.
4. A PAC recommendation is followed by an agreement from the candidate and then the sanction order, which also fixes the yearly ceiling under each item of expenditure; the first-year grant is released with it, subject to funds.

Neither the guidelines nor the programme page publishes the cut-off score itself. The programme page names what the committee weighs: the research proposal, academic credentials, publication record, recognitions, and the presentation and discussion at interview. The best-three-scores rule is new in the current edition; the older guidelines and previous guidelines used five reviewers, three from within Kerala and two from outside, and required at least three grades above 5 out of 10.

Fine print

Terms & conditions

The fellow, the mentor and the head of institution all sign KSCSTE's terms and conditions, which add these points to the conditions in the myScheme record:

• The fellowship is a contract with no service benefits, and the host institute's rules may be applied to its administration.
• The fellow submits an undertaking from the host that it will extend all institute and laboratory facilities for the project.
• All official communication goes to the Director of KSCSTE through the host institution, endorsed by the mentor.
• Leaving early needs KSCSTE's prior approval, requested through the mentor with reasons, followed within one month by a consolidated progress report and financial statements.
• Taking part in the Kerala Science Congress at least once during the tenure, by poster, paper or plain participation, is compulsory.
• KSCSTE's Executive Committee or Programme Advisory Committee may add guidelines during the fellowship, and on any question of breach the decision of KSCSTE's Executive Vice-President is final.

The current guidelines add a rule on intellectual property: results that need legal protection must not be published until action has been taken to secure it.

Get help

Contact

Queries go to the Scientist-in-Charge (KSCSTE-PDF) at Sasthra Bhavan, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram. KSCSTE's staff page lists Dr. Jaya Jacob as the scientist coordinating both this programme and Back-to-Lab, with her office in Room No. 407 on the fourth floor (staff profile). Portal log-in or upload problems go to a separate address, isdkscste@gmail.com, and completion documents are sent as soft copies to jaya.kscste@kerala.gov.in or sasthrabodhini2011@gmail.com as well as in hard copy (current guidelines).

Source

Official links

Frequently asked questions

From the official scheme FAQ (myScheme)

Read this

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Scheme details are compiled from myScheme, the Government of India’s official scheme-discovery platform, and are reproduced without alteration. Amounts, deadlines and eligibility change between cycles, so always confirm on the official links above before applying. Expertie does not process applications or charge fees.

Explore more

Related scholarships

References

Sources