Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students

The Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) was launched by the Ministry of Minority Affairs to provide integrated five-year fellowships in the form of financial assistance to students from six notified minority communities: Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Parsi, and Sikh. The scheme aims to support students pursuing higher education such as regular and full-time M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees in Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The fellowship is implemented through the University Grants Commission (UGC) and serves to bridge the gap in higher education participation among minority groups. It covers research fellow stipends and contingency grants. Note that the Ministry announced in December 2022 that the scheme would be overlapping with other fellowships and discontinued for new applicants, though existing fellows continue to receive disbursement.