Does a Junior Fellowship Applicant Need a Graduation Degree?

Only in the New Area field. CCRT's instruction sheet lists graduation as the minimum educational qualification for Indology, Epigraphy, Sociology of Culture, Cultural Economics, Numismatics, the structural and engineering aspects of monuments, conservation science, heritage management and technology applied to culture, and states that it does not apply to the Performing, Literary and Visual Arts fields (Instructions for Junior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). A summary that puts graduation on every applicant has flattened that sentence.

Where Is the Selection List for the CCRT Fellowship Published?

On www.ccrtindia.gov.in and on culture.gov.in, once the selection process is complete and the Ministry has approved it (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). On culture.gov.in the outcome is filed as a Minutes document for each batch year rather than under a heading that says results, which is why searchers often miss it (Ministry of Culture, fellowship minutes).

Is the CCRT Senior Scholarship the Same Thing as a Senior Fellowship?

No, and the amounts are different. The Ministry's scholarship for young artists pays Rs.5000/- a month to artists in the age group of 18 to 25 who have trained under a guru or an institution for a minimum period of five years, while the Senior Fellowship pays Rs. 20,000 a month to a fellow above 40 for a research project (Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture). People searching for a CCRT senior scholarship almost always want the fellowship.

How Is This Different From a Sangeet Natak Akademi Research Grant?

Different body, different committee. The Sangeet Natak Akademi runs its own Project Grants to Individuals for Research in the Performing Arts, awarded on the recommendation of its Advisory Committee, while this fellowship is awarded by an Expert Committee constituted by the Ministry of Culture itself (Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture).

Is This the Same as the Tagore National Fellowship?

No, and the gap in money is wide. The Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research is the third component of the same Ministry of Culture scheme, pays a Fellow Rs.80,000 a month and a Tagore Research Scholar Rs.50,000 a month, and puts the selection in the hands of a National Selection Committee, with the research done through affiliation to a participating institution (Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture). A Senior or Junior Fellow needs no host institution: the project is the applicant's own and the file goes to CCRT. A state award is a third thing again. Gujarat's Award of Fellowship to Most Eminent Artist, for one, is settled by the state Akademi in Ahmedabad and has nothing to do with CCRT or the Expert Committee in Delhi (Award of Fellowship to Most Eminent Artist on myScheme).

Do I Have to Quit My Job If I Am Selected?

You do not resign, but you do step away. An applicant employed in a central or state government department, institution, undertaking or university has to take leave for the two years of the fellowship, and CCRT holds the first instalment until proof of sanctioned leave reaches it (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). That is also why the employer's written assurance is asked for at the interview stage rather than after the award.

What is the objective of the scheme?

The objective of the scheme is to encourage the analytical application of new research techniques, technological and management principles to contemporary issues in areas related to art and culture.

Which ministry has started the scheme?

Ministry of Culture, Government of India

Is this Central Sector Scheme?

Yes, this is a Central Sector Scheme.

What are the benefits of the scheme?

The junior & senior fellows are paid grant money @ ₹10,000/- and ₹20,000/- per month respectively for a period of two years.

What other benefits will be given to the fellows?

There could be also a one-time grant up to a maximum of ₹20,000/- or 50% of the cost of the publication, whichever is less, for the publication of selected Project documents. This will be restricted to 20% of the awardees.

How many numbers of fellowships will be given each year?

The number of fellowships will be up to 400 each year.

What should the minimum educational qualification be required for applying under the scheme?

Graduation is the minimum educational qualification required for applicants applying under the scheme.

What is the age criterion for an applicant applying for junior fellowships?

The applicant applying under the junior fellowships should be between 25 to 40 years.

What is the age criterion for an applicant applying for senior fellowships?

The age of the applicant should be above 40 years applying under senior fellowships.

Can an applicant who is the recipient of a pension from the Ministry of Culture be eligible to apply under the scheme?

No, the applicant should not be the recipient of a pension from the Ministry of Culture under the scheme for the grant of financial assistance to artists in indigent circumstances.

Can an applicant avail of the benefits of the same fellowship more than once?

No, the applicant should not have availed of the same fellowship earlier.

Can an applicant who had been awarded a Junior Fellowship apply for a Senior Fellowship?

Yes, an applicant who had been awarded a Junior Fellowship can apply for a Senior Fellowship, provided 5 years have elapsed after the closure of the earlier project.

When will the review or assessment of performance be carried out?

A mid-term review/assessment of performance in each case will be carried out after one year and further continuance of Fellowship will depend on such review/assessment.

How can an applicant apply under the scheme?

The applicant may apply through online mode. Applicants are required to submit online applications on the Website of the Ministry of Culture or Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT).

Scholarship

Scheme For Award Of Senior/Junior Fellowships To Outstanding Persons In The Fields Of Culture(SASJFOPFC)

Q: When Did Applications for the Batch Year 2026-27 Close?

The last date for receipt of applications was 31st July, 2026, and only offline applications were accepted for that batch year (Instructions for Junior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). There is no rolling window: the Ministry advertises the scheme once per batch year and the form is valid only for the year printed on it.

Cash

CentralCentral Sector Scheme

Ministry Of Culture All India myScheme record

Eligibility

The age of the applicant should be above 40 years for applying under senior fellowships.

Region

All India

Award

Cash

Deadline

Not published by the source

Overview

About SASJFOPFC

The instruction sheet CCRT issued for the batch year 2026-27 settles the most expensive misreading of this scheme in its opening paragraph: the money is not a monthly remuneration, a stipend or a pension for artistes, it is a project-based award. Everything an applicant has to do follows from that sentence, from the written synopsis to the six-monthly reporting that keeps the instalments coming. The other surprise is procedural. The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training took the last round on paper only, by post, and nothing through a web form.

This is one of three components of the Ministry of Culture's Scheme of Scholarship and Fellowship for Promotion of Art and Culture, alongside the scholarship for young artists and the Tagore fellowship, and it is the component aimed at a practitioner who already has a body of work and a research question to chase (Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture, March 2023). The Ministry designed it to sit above the two schemes that catch artists early: the Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme for ages 10 to 14 and the scholarship for young artistes for ages 18 to 25 left nobody funding very advanced training or independent creative work, and this scheme was written to fill that hole, including for artists in rural and tribal areas (Ministry of Culture, scheme text).

Applications are sorted into eight fields on the current form, and the sub-field you tick matters more than most applicants expect. The scheme text still uses the older label "Plastic Arts", while the newest form and instructions call the same territory Visual Arts.

Field on the batch year 2026-27 form	Sub-fields it opens
Classical Music	Carnatic and Hindustani, vocal and instrumental
Dance and Dance Music	Bharatnatyam, Chhau, Gaudiya Nritya, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam, Odissi, Satriya, Thangta
Folk, Traditional and Indigenous Arts	Folk dance, folk music, folk songs, folk theatre, puppetry
Light Classical Music	Thumri, Dadra, Tappa, Ghazal, Qawwali, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti
Literature	The listed Indian languages, from Assamese and Bodo to Santhali and Urdu
New Area	Indology, Epigraphy, Numismatics, Cultural Economics, Sociology of Culture, conservation science, heritage management
Theatre	Theatre and Mime
Visual Arts	Painting, Graphics, Sculpture, Photography, Pottery and Ceramics

Who runs it

Provider

Ministry Of Culture

Central Government

Central Sector Scheme

At a glance

Key details

Level	Central
Scheme type	Central Sector Scheme
Category	Sports & Culture
Beneficiaries	Artists
Benefit type	Cash
Application mode	Online
Direct Benefit Transfer	Not published by the source
Tags	Fellowship, Culture, Arts, Junior Fellows, Senior Fellows
Source record	myScheme, 2026-07-08official-site· 2026-07-08

Calendar

Important dates

For the batch year 2026-27, 31st July, 2026 was the last date for receipt of applications, and CCRT accepted them offline only (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). That window has closed. The Ministry's advertisement page carries that notice and the batch year 2025-26 one before it, which is the pattern to watch: a fresh advertisement, form and instruction sheet appear together for each batch year (Ministry of Culture, fellowship advertisements).

Results run well behind the deadline, and the publishing record has holes in it. The Ministry files each batch year's outcome as a Minutes document, and that list runs from the batch year 2025-26 straight back to 2022-23, with nothing filed for the two batch years in between (Ministry of Culture, fellowship minutes). One practical warning: a scheme listing on an aggregator can stay online through the months when no round is open, so a live page is not evidence of a live call.

Who can apply

Eligibility criteria

Only Indian nationals may apply, and the tier is decided by date of birth rather than by seniority in the art form. The two tiers are otherwise the same award with different numbers attached.

Term	Senior Fellowship	Junior Fellowship
Fellowships in the batch year	200	200
Value	Rs. 20,000 per month	Rs. 10,000 per month
Age band	Above 40 years	25 to 40 years
Date of birth for batch year 2026-27	On or before 31-03-1986	01-04-1986 to 31-03-2001, both days inclusive
Maximum tenure	Two years	Two years

The two documents part company by a day at the Senior boundary. The application form restricts the Senior Fellowship to applicants born on or before 31-03-1986, while the instruction sheet writes the same cut-off as 01-04-1986 (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27); because the Junior band opens on 01-04-1986, anyone born on exactly that date should ask CCRT which tier will accept the form before posting it.

The degree requirement is narrower than it looks in most summaries. Graduation is the minimum qualification only for applicants in the New Area field and its sub-fields, and CCRT states plainly that it does not apply to the Performing, Literary and Visual Arts fields, where the evidence of capability is the work itself (Instructions for Junior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27).

The age of the applicant should be above 40 years for applying under senior fellowships.
The age of the applicant should be between 25-40 years for applying under junior fellowships.
Graduation is the minimum educational qualification for applicants in the fields/areas mentioned in the scheme guideline.
Applicants for senior fellowship should not be the recipient of pension from the Ministry of Culture under the scheme for grant of financial assistance to artists in indigent circumstances.
An applicant should not have availed of the same fellowship earlier. However, an applicant who had been awarded a Junior Fellowship can apply for a Senior Fellowship, provided 5 years have elapsed after the closure of the earlier project.
Note 01: The age of the applicant will be reckoned as of 1st April of the year.
Note 02: Under the Senior and Junior Fellowships, the awardees will submit a six-monthly progress report. In cases where such reports are not received timely, the Ministry may withhold further releases of the Fellowship amount.
Note 03: The selected candidates will have to undertake academic or application-oriented research work on projects for which they have been awarded the Fellowship. They will complete their Projects within two years and submit the same to the Ministry. Extension of time by a maximum of three months will be permissible without any additional financial liability to the Government.
Note 04: A mid-term review/assessment of performance in each case will be carried out after one year and further continuance of Fellowship will depend on such review/assessment.

Who cannot apply

Exclusions

A proposal to run a workshop, teach a class, hold a seminar, document a memoir or write an autobiography or fiction is outside the scheme by design, and in the New Area field a general or theoretical macro-study is set aside as well: the Ministry asks for something innovative, application-oriented and preferably inter-disciplinary. Two bars attach to the applicant rather than to the project. An applicant for the Senior Fellowship cannot be drawing a pension from the Ministry of Culture under its scheme for artistes in indigent circumstances, and nobody may hold the same fellowship twice, although a former Junior Fellow may come back for a Senior Fellowship once 5 years have passed since the earlier project closed (Ministry of Culture, scheme text).

Rejection can also come from the desk rather than from the committee, and neither of the two ways it does has anything to do with the merit of the project. An incomplete application in any respect is rejected summarily (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27), and the project-details block of the form carries its own warning: an applicant who enters the wrong field or sub-field has the application treated as cancelled by CCRT (Application Form for Senior Fellowship Scheme, batch year 2026-27).

The fellowships are not intended for providing training, conducting workshops, seminars, documenting memoirs/or writing autobiographies, fiction, etc.

Continuation

Renewal conditions

The second year is not applied for again. CCRT sanctions the fellowship against the project rather than against a year, so what stands between a fellow and the remaining money is a mid-term review of the progress made, carried out after one year, on which further continuance depends. The project itself has to be completed within two years and sent to CCRT by post; where it overruns, the Ministry of Culture can approve an extension of a maximum of three months, and that extension carries no additional financial liability (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27).

What you get

Award & benefits

A Senior Fellow is paid Rs. 20,000 a month and a Junior Fellow Rs. 10,000 a month for a maximum of two years (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27, Instructions for Junior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). The rate is not the payment schedule. The Ministry of Culture told the Lok Sabha that both tiers are released in four equal six-monthly instalments across the two years, and that the award is disbursed directly to the awardee (Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture, March 2023).

The part that rarely gets mentioned is the publication grant. Where a project document is selected for publication, there is a one-time grant of up to Rs. 20,000 or 50% of the cost of publication, whichever is less, and it is restricted to 20% of the awardees (Ministry of Culture, scheme text). A fellow who wants the manuscript in print should treat that as a competitive extra, not as part of the award.

The number of fellowships will be up to 400 each year. These are of two types, namely, senior and junior fellowships.
Senior Fellowship: Number of fellowships: 200
Monthly amount: ₹20,000
Age group: Above 40 years
Junior Fellowship: Number of fellowships: 200
Monthly amount: ₹10,000
Age group: 25–40 years
Age is calculated as on 1st April of the given year
In addition, there could be a one time grant up to maximum of ₹20,000/- or 50% of the cost of the publication, whichever is less, for publication of selected Project documents. This will be restricted to 20% of the awardees.

What to prepare

Documents required

The mandatory enclosures listed on the newest form are a photograph, proof of date of birth, PAN or Aadhaar, a caste certificate or disability certificate where either applies, proof of major awards and achievements, and the project proposal itself, written within the 1000 to 1500 word limit (Application Form for Senior Fellowship Scheme, batch year 2026-27).

Another pair of demands sits inside the form itself rather than in that enclosure list, and both take time to arrange. You must name two scholarly experts or reputed institutes, with addresses, who will certify your credentials as an artist in your field, and you must declare whether you have held a Senior or Junior Fellowship from the Ministry before, with the award year. Employed applicants carry two further papers to the interview: a no-objection or consent letter from the employer, and, for anyone in a central or state government department, institution, undertaking or university, a written assurance from the head of that body that leave will be granted if the fellowship is sanctioned.

Identity proof

Passport size photographs

Proof of age i.e. Birth Certificate etc.

Documents of educational qualifications

Bank account details

Caste certificate

NOC/consent letter of their employer (In case of employed applicants )

If the applicant is employed in the Central/State Government Departments/Institutions/University etc., a copy of written assurance from his/her Head of Department that in case the Fellowship is sanctioned, the candidate would be granted leave for the duration of the Fellowship.

An undertaking :

a. Whether you are employed in the Central/State Government Departments/Institutions/University etc or not employed by any organization.

b. Whether you have availed of Junior Fellowship earlier.

Step by step

How to apply

Download the instruction sheet and the application form for your tier from the Ministry's fellowship pages, fill the form in capital letters or type it, and pick the field and sub-field exactly as Annex A lists them. Write the project synopsis in 1000 to 1500 words in English or Hindi; applicants in the Literature field may write it in their regional language instead. Then post the hard copy of the form with the synopsis to the Director, CCRT, 15A, Sector-7, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075 (Instructions for Junior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). Employed applicants have to route the file through the proper channel, a condition the scheme text imposes rather than the instruction sheet (Ministry of Culture, scheme text).

The scheme text on the Ministry's own site still tells applicants to submit online on the website of the Ministry or of CCRT (Ministry of Culture, scheme text), and the instruction sheet for the batch year overrides it in a line set in capitals at the top of page one: only off-line applications will be entertained. Read the instruction sheet for the batch year you are applying in, not the standing scheme page. Keep a print-out of the completed form as well, because shortlisted candidates are asked to produce it at the interview along with the detailed project proposal.

A posted application leaves nothing to track. The route has no login, no acknowledgement number and no page that changes state, so an applicant hears twice and only twice: shortlisted candidates are told the date and venue of the interview or personal talk at the email address written on the form, and the names finally selected are posted on CCRT's site, www.ccrtindia.gov.in, and on culture.gov.in after the Ministry approves the selection. Between those two moments the only channel that exists is CCRT's help line for difficulties with the form itself, fellowship.ccrt@nic.in and 011-25088747 (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27).

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Apply online
http://csms.nic.in/login/index.php

How winners are picked

Selection process

An Expert Committee comprising experts in the different fields, constituted by the Ministry of Culture, evaluates every applicant on the strength of the application and the project proposal, then calls those who meet the eligibility criteria for an interview or personal talk. Set that against the standing scheme text, which shortlists Junior candidates for an interview and states that no such interview or talk would be necessary in the case of Senior Fellowships (Ministry of Culture, scheme text): for the batch year 2026-27 the instruction sheet puts Senior applicants in front of the committee as well (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). The committee selects the most meritorious up to the number of fellowships on offer, and the Ministry approves the result before a single name is published.

No field carries a quota of its own. The instruction sheet is explicit that the 200 fellowships in each tier are awarded across the different fields and areas taken together, so a Kathak proposal competes with an epigraphy proposal for the same pool (Instructions for Junior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). Selection is not the end of the scrutiny either: if an awardee is found ineligible at any later stage, the fellowship is cancelled and the money already released is recovered.

Fine print

Terms & conditions

A government employee who is selected has to take leave for the two years of the fellowship, and the first instalment is released only on production of proof that the leave was sanctioned. Awardees submit six-monthly progress reports, and where reports do not arrive on time the Ministry can withhold further releases. The completed project goes to CCRT by post at the end of the fellowship. Any legal dispute concerning the scheme falls within the jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court, and the Ministry reserves the right to select or reject applications on the basis of its screening and evaluation (Instructions for Junior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27).

Get help

Contact

Applications and their problems go to CCRT: the Director, Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, 15A, Sector-7, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075, with fellowship.ccrt@nic.in and 011-25088747 as the line for trouble with the form itself (Instructions for Senior Fellowship, batch year 2026-27). Questions about the scheme rather than the application go elsewhere, and the scheme page publishes two routes for them: the Section Officer of the Scholarship and Fellowship Section in the Ministry of Culture, on 011-24642133 or at scholar-culture@nic.in, and the Director of CCRT on 011-25074256 or at dir.ccrt@nic.in, which is a different line from the one printed on the instruction sheet (Ministry of Culture, scheme text).

Source

Official links

Official Website Guideline Application Form myScheme (Government of India)

Questions

SASJFOPFC – 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

Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture, March 2023 – pib.gov.in
Ministry of Culture, scheme text – culture.gov.in
Award of Fellowship to Most Eminent Artist on myScheme – myscheme.gov.in
Official Website – indiaculture.gov.in