Is the RTI Fellowship open for applications right now?

No round is open. The last call DoPT published was RTI Fellowship 2021, issued on 01/11/2021 with the last date extended to 15.12.2021, and nothing after it appears in the department's RTI orders repository (DoPT RTI orders and notifications).

Can a student or a fresh graduate apply?

No. The fellowship is written for people already working in the field: the age band is 25 to 40 years, and the applicant needs proven credentials in journalism, in civil society work on RTI, or in RTI research and training, along with prior RTI work (2014 guidelines).

How many fellowships are offered in a round, and has that number changed?

Four. Every round whose guidelines DoPT has published in readable text says the same, in 2014, in 2016 and in 2018: four short-term fellowships (2014 guidelines, RTI Fellowship 2016 guidelines, RTI Fellowship 2018 memorandum). From 2016 the four were split by theme rather than thrown open to any RTI subject. The first announcement was larger: in December 2010 DoPT invited proposals for five short-term fellowships and set a closing date of 3rd January 2011 (Press Information Bureau).

How is this different from DoPT's RTI internship?

They are separate programmes with separate circulars. Alongside the fellowship, DoPT has run a Summer Internship Programme on RTI for law students, announced in its own memorandums for 2017, 2018 and 2019 (DoPT RTI orders and notifications). The internship is aimed at students in a five year integrated law course; the fellowship is aimed at mid-career professionals and pays a stipend against research deliverables.

Does the Central Information Commission run this fellowship?

No. DoPT administers it as the nodal ministry for the Right to Information Act, and the Central Information Commission appears in the guidelines only as one of the suggested subjects a fellow might research (2014 guidelines). Grants that DoPT releases to State Information Commissions and Administrative Training Institutes under its annual RTI programme belong to a different component of the same scheme and go to institutions rather than to individual researchers (DoPT RTI orders and notifications).

Where can past fellows' work be read?

On the RTI portal DoPT maintains for the Act. Its publications page carries fellows' study reports from the 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 rounds, most of them under the fellow's own name, and keeps the RTI internship reports in a separate group (RTI portal publications).

Will Short-Listed Candidates Be Required To Attend An Interview Or Presentation?

Yes, short-listed candidates may be called for an interview or presentation in Delhi as part of the final selection process.

Can Individuals Working Under Central/State Government Or Public Sector Undertakings Apply For The Program?

Yes, individuals working under Central/State Government or Public Sector Undertakings are eligible to apply. They need to submit their applications through proper channel and may send an advance copy along with the required enclosures.

What Happens If An Application Is Incomplete?

Incomplete applications are liable to be rejected, so it is important to ensure that all the required information and documents are included.

Are Only Indian Nationals Eligible To Apply For The Fellowship?

Yes, only Indian nationals are eligible to apply for the fellowship program.

Will Any Form Of Canvassing Affect The Selection Process?

Yes, canvassing in any form will lead to disqualification from the selection process. Applicants are expected to follow a fair and unbiased approach.

Will There Be Any Interim Enquiries Or Correspondence Entertained?

No, no interim enquiries or correspondence will be entertained. Applicants will be informed of the final decision once the selection process is completed.

What Should The Research Proposal Indicate?

The research proposal should clearly indicate the deliverable or output that will be produced at the end of the fellowship. This could be in the form of a monograph, features/news stories, investigative stories, or even short video films or stories, depending on the applicant's field of expertise.

Who Will Own The Copyright Of The Research Output?

The copyright of the research output will vest in the Government of India, which may publish the research output or use it in any other way to strengthen the working of the RTI regime.

Can The Fellows Choose The Format Of Their Research Output?

Yes, fellows can choose the format of their research output based on their expertise and preferences. It could be a monograph, features/news stories, investigative stories, short video films, or other suitable formats.

Will The Government Of India Publish The Research Output?

The Government of India may publish the research output and use it to enhance the functioning of the RTI regime. They have the right to utilize the research output for various purposes.

Will The Fellows Retain Any Rights Over Their Research Output?

While the copyright of the research output belongs to the Government of India, the fellows may be granted permission to use the output if the government does not utilize it within one year.

Is There A Specific Word Count Requirement For The Monograph?

The proposal should include a monograph of approximately 10,000 words, which should be ready for publication. However, the specific word count requirement may vary depending on the nature and depth of the research.

Can Fellows From Various Fields, Such As Journalism Or Audio-Video Media, Apply For The Program?

Yes, professionals from various fields, including journalism or audio-video media, are eligible to apply for the program. They can contribute their expertise and deliver research output in their respective domains.

Can Fellows Propose Innovative Approaches Or Methodologies For Their Research?

Yes, fellows are encouraged to propose innovative approaches or methodologies that can add value to their research. The program aims to foster creativity and new perspectives in addressing RTI-related issues.

What Happens If A Fellow Is Unable To Deliver The Proposed Research Output?

Fellows are expected to fulfill their commitment and deliver the proposed research output. However, in exceptional circumstances, such as unforeseen challenges or genuine reasons, they should communicate with the concerned authorities to discuss alternative arrangements.

Will The Research Output Be Evaluated Before Publication Or Use By The Government?

The research output may go through an evaluation process before publication or use by the government. The evaluation may include reviewing the quality, relevance, and alignment with the objectives of the RTI regime

Scholarship

Right To Information Fellowship(RTIF)

Cash

CentralCentral Sector Scheme

Ministry Of Personnel, Public Grievances And Pensions All India myScheme record

Eligibility

The applicant should be a professional in the field of journalism (newspaper/ magazine/ radio/ TV), Civil Society and research and training in the field of RTI.

Region

All India

Award

Cash

Deadline

Not published by the source

Overview

About RTIF

The Right to Information Fellowship is not a student award. The Department of Personnel and Training built it for working journalists, civil society professionals and RTI trainers who already have RTI work behind them, and it buys a short block of field research on how the Act is holding up in practice. The money arrives in instalments against progress reports an expert group has accepted, and the copyright in whatever a fellow produces goes to the Government of India. One thing a searcher needs before anything else: the last call the department published carries a 2021 date, and nothing has followed it (DoPT RTI orders and notifications).

The scheme's guidelines put four short-term fellowships on offer in a round, for researchers drawn from media and journalism, from civil society organisations associated with RTI, and from the pool of RTI researchers and trainers, to carry out field-based research on themes relating to the Act (Guidelines for Right to Information Fellowship, 2014). The department is the nodal ministry for the RTI Act, and the fellowship is one instrument it uses to find out what the Act is doing on the ground.

How much freedom a fellow gets over the subject has changed between rounds. The 2014 guidelines let an applicant choose any theme relating to RTI and listed six examples, from awareness and accessibility in remote villages to the functioning of the Central and State Information Commissions (2014 guidelines). The 2016 round did the opposite and named the themes in advance, with a quota against each: one fellowship for a study of compliance with Section 4 by public authorities, one for the effectiveness of the first appeal process, and two for policy work drawn from the contents of RTI applications and appeals (RTI Fellowship 2016 guidelines). The 2018 round carried the same three themes and the same split forward (RTI Fellowship 2018 memorandum).

Who runs it

Provider

Ministry Of Personnel, Public Grievances And Pensions

Central Government

Department of Personnel and Training

At a glance

Key details

Level	Central
Scheme type	Central Sector Scheme
Category	Education & Learning
Beneficiaries	Individual
Benefit type	Cash
Application mode	Offline
Direct Benefit Transfer	Not published by the source
Tags	Internship, Student, RTI, Journalism, Communication
Source record	myScheme, 2026-07-08official-site· 2026-07-08

Calendar

Important dates

The fellowship has never run to a published calendar. Each round begins with an office memorandum of its own, and the last date it names rarely survives: the 2016 call set 7th November, 2016 (RTI Fellowship 2016 guidelines) and then moved it to 21st November, 2016 in a second memorandum issued two days after the original date had already passed (RTI Fellowship 2016 extension memorandum).

Round	First circular	Later circular on the same round
2014	05/02/2014	27/02/2014, extension of last date
2015	05/06/2015	23/06/2015, extended date
2016	06/10/2016	09/11/2016
2018	28/05/2018	29/06/2018, last date extended till 15.07.2018
2019	31/07/2019	26/08/2019 till 30.09.2019, then 15/10/2019
2021	01/11/2021	30/11/2021, last date extended till 15.12.2021

The most recent round in that repository is RTI Fellowship 2021, invited on 01/11/2021 with the last date pushed to 15.12.2021. The repository has been added to since, its newest entry carrying the date 07/08/2023, and it records no fellowship call after 2021 (DoPT RTI orders and notifications).

The myScheme listing publishes neither an opening date nor a closing date, which is how a scheme with no live round tends to appear on a directory that keeps the page standing. Treat the scheme page as a description of the terms, and the department's circulars as the answer to whether anyone is accepting applications.

Who can apply

Eligibility criteria

The bar is professional, not academic, and the age band filters hardest. The fellowship is open to individuals in the age group of 25 to 40 years from journalism, newspaper, magazine, radio or TV, from civil society organisations associated with RTI, and from researchers and trainers in the RTI field (2014 guidelines). The 2014 application proforma asked for age as on 01/01/2014, so in that round the band was measured against a fixed cut-off at the start of the year rather than against the date an envelope reached North Block.

Nothing in the guidelines asks for a degree, a doctorate or an institutional affiliation. What they ask for is proven credentials in the applicant's own professional area and some prior experience of work relating to the Right to Information, which is why a law student or a fresh graduate sits outside the design of the scheme even though the myScheme listing tags it under Internship and Student.

The applicant should be a professional in the field of journalism (newspaper/ magazine/ radio/ TV), Civil Society and research and training in the field of RTI.
The applicant should be between 25 and 40 years of age.
The applicant should have proven credentials in his / her professional area.
The applicant should have some prior experience of work relating to the Right to Information.
The applicant should have an aptitude for research.

Who cannot apply

Exclusions

myScheme leaves this scheme's exclusions field empty. The guidelines supply the substance anyway, and the sharpest clause sits on the application proforma itself: a signed declaration that if an attempt to wilfully conceal or misrepresent facts is discovered at any stage, the fellowship shall be summarily rejected or terminated without any notice (2014 guidelines). Termination after the award is a live exposure here, because the later instalments are released only after DoPT has accepted the work.

The same instructions confine the fellowship to Indian nationals and treat canvassing in any form as a disqualification.

Continuation

Renewal conditions

Nothing about this fellowship is renewable. Each award runs for a fixed three months, and the guidelines publish no second term, no extension of the research period and no conversion into a longer grant (2014 guidelines). What DoPT does extend is the application window rather than the fellowship: separate circulars pushed the last date in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021 (DoPT RTI orders and notifications).

What you get

Award & benefits

Each selected fellow receives a total stipend of Rs 2.00 lakh, subject to tax deduction at source, and the guidelines are explicit that the total already includes the grant of up to Rs 50,000 for books, research material, travel, printing and production of creatives, reimbursed against actual bills (RTI Fellowship 2018 memorandum). The contingency sits inside that total, not on top of it. Nor is the money a monthly salary paid by right: it is released in four tranches, each tied to a piece of work somebody has signed off.

Tranche	Amount	Released on
First	Rs 50,000	Acceptance of the first monthly progress report by an expert group
Second	Rs 50,000	Acceptance of the second monthly progress report by an expert group
Third	Rs 50,000	Acceptance of the final output by the competent authority in DoPT
Contingency	Up to Rs 50,000	Acceptance of the final output, on production of actual bills

Read the contingency row carefully, because it is the one applicants misjudge. Travel and printing money is reimbursed at the end, against bills, after the final output is accepted, so a field-heavy proposal has to be funded out of pocket first. The four amounts are the ones the 2014 guidelines set, where the total is written as up to Rs 2.00 lakhs, and the 2016 and 2018 rounds repeated them unchanged (2014 guidelines, RTI Fellowship 2016 guidelines).

A stipend of ₹ 50,000/- per month for three months. (subject to tax deduction at source)
₹ 50,000/- for books, research material, travel, printing, production of creatives, etc., sanctioned on the basis of the research proposal and released on production of actual bills.

What to prepare

Documents required

Two details around the document list decide whether an application survives the post room. The proposal has to indicate the monthly output as well as the final deliverable, not the final one alone, and five complete sets of the application with every enclosure go into the envelope (2014 guidelines). The no-objection certificate is asked for only where the applicant has a present employer.

A comprehensive proposal (not more than 6-8 A4 size pages) outlining the subject to be researched, the research plan and final deliverable.

Curriculum vitae (no more than 3 A4 sheets) along with a photograph.

A brief statement of work done in the field of RTI.

Two references from professionals familiar with the applicant’s work from his /her professional field.

A no-objection from the present employer.

Passport Sized Photograph.

NOTE: The proposal should clearly indicate the output that will be delivered at the end of the fellowship. It could be in the nature of a monograph of 10,000 words which is ready for publication, or features/news stories /investigative stories that could be printed / published as a journalistic piece in national /international media or, in the case of professionals from the field of audio-video media, it could even be short video films or stories.

Step by step

How to apply

There is no portal and no online form. Five sets of the application, in the prescribed proforma and with all enclosures, are sent by post to the Under Secretary (IR), Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, North Block, New Delhi 110001 (2014 guidelines). The blank form is still published on DoPT's own forms page as Form No RTI/IR-6, dated 23/08/2016, on a page last updated 12 Jun 2018 (DoPT RTI/IR forms).

A posted application generates nothing to track. The scheme has no status page, no application number and no desk to ring for a progress update, because the last of the instructions printed on the proforma says that no interim enquiries or correspondence shall be entertained (2014 guidelines). The only signal an applicant gets before a decision is a call to an interview or presentation in Delhi. What can be watched instead is the department's own RTI orders and notifications repository, which is where each call and each extension of a last date has been posted (DoPT RTI orders and notifications).

1
Apply offline
The official links on this page lead to the application portal.

How winners are picked

Selection process

Selection runs on a hundred-mark scheme, and the research proposal carries most of the weight. A committee constituted by DoPT scores the application, and short-listed candidates may be called to Delhi for an interview or a presentation of the proposal before the selection is finalised.

Criterion	Marks
Curriculum vitae	10
References	10
Professional experience and achievements	20
Proposal: relevance and importance of theme	10
Proposal: quality of research plan	40
Proposal: innovativeness	10
Total	100

Inside the research plan's 40 marks, research methodology carries 15, problem definition and expected deliverable take 10 each, and emphasis on field or action research takes 5 (2014 guidelines). A well-known byline earns nothing on its own; the method section is worth more than the CV and the references put together.

Fine print

Terms & conditions

The fellowship is a component of a larger plan scheme, titled Improving Transparency and Accountability in Government through Effective Implementation of the Right to Information Act, whose other components run to awareness generation, training and e-governance work on RTI (2014 guidelines). That parentage explains the shape of the terms: the output belongs to the department's programme, not to the fellow's portfolio.

The stipend is paid subject to tax deduction at source, and the 2018 round states that no other remuneration, including stay or accommodation, is admissible (RTI Fellowship 2018 memorandum). Copyright in the research output vests in the Government of India, which may publish it or use it in any other way to strengthen the working of the RTI regime, and a fellow may be permitted to use the output only if the government has not published or used it within one year (2014 guidelines).

Get help

Contact

Applications go by post to the Under Secretary (IR) in the IR Division of the Department of Personnel and Training, North Block, New Delhi 110001 (2014 guidelines). The RTI portal that DoPT runs for the Act publishes dirrti-dopt@nic.in as the division's email address (RTI portal publications).

Source

Official links

Official Website myScheme (Government of India)

Questions

RTIF – FAQ

Frequently asked questions

From the official scheme FAQ (myScheme)

Read this

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.

References

Sources

DoPT RTI orders and notifications – doptcirculars.nic.in
Guidelines for Right to Information Fellowship, 2014 – documents.doptcirculars.nic.in
myScheme listing – myscheme.gov.in
DoPT RTI/IR forms – dopt.gov.in
RTI portal publications – rti.dopt.gov.in
Press Information Bureau – pib.gov.in