Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
Extramural Research Division-I
CSIR Complex, Library Avenue
New Delhi -110 012
Advertisement No. - 2024/SRFRA/1, Date: 27/11/2024)
INVITING APPLICATIONS FOR Direct SRF and RA
The Human Resource Development (HRD) Group of COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL
RESEARCH (CSIR), New Delhi, provides opportunities to bright young men and women in the
form of direct Senior Research Fellowships (SRFs) and Research Associateships (RAs) for
training in methods of research under the expert guidance of faculty members/scientists
working in universities, laboratories and institutes of Government Departments and
recognised laboratories of industry in various fields of science and technology.
The Fellowships/Associateships are tenable in all the universities and deemed universities
/IITs/ postgraduate colleges/government research establishments, including CSIR, R&D
establishments of recognised public sector, industrial firms and other recognised institutions.
Only Indian citizens are eligible for the award. The award is for fixed tenure and does not
imply any assurance or guarantee for subsequent employment by CSIR to the beneficiary.
CSIR reserves the right to determine the place of work in India best suited to provide
necessary facilities in the areas of science and technology in which the awardee is to
specialize. Selected Fellows and Associates must devote their full time to the approved
research programs. Fellows and Associates cannot take up any other remunerative
jobs/assignments during their tenure.
A. SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS:
MSc/BE/B. Tech or equivalent degree with at least 55% marks and one
publication in Science
Citation Indexed (SCI) Journal and should have completed at least two
years of postMSc/BE/B. Tech research experience as on the last date of
application, as evidenced from
fellowship/ associateship or from date of registration for Ph.D.
OR
M.Tech/ME or equivalent degree in engineering/technology with at least 60% marks.
OR
BE/B. Tech or equivalent degree with at least 60% marks and two years of research
experience as on the last date of application.
OR
MBBS/BDS or equivalent with at least 60% marks and one-year internship.
OR
BPharm/BVSc/BSc (Ag) or equivalent degree with at least 55% marks and one publication in
SCI Journal and should have completed at least three years of research experience as on the
last date of application, evidenced from fellowship/associateship or from date of registration
for Ph.D.
OR
MPharm/MVSc/MSc (Ag)/MPhil or equivalent degree with at least 55% marks and one
publication in SCI Journal and should have at least one year research experience as on the
last date of application, evidenced from fellowship/associateship or from date of registration
for PhD.
Documents supporting the research, teaching experience (not below the undergraduate
level), and Ph.D. registration should be submitted online.
Those who have been awarded PhD/MD/MS/MDS degrees or have submitted their thesis for
the award of PhD/MD/MS/MDS degrees are not eligible for the position of SRF. Those who
are eligible for RA will not be considered for SRF.
EMPLOYED CANDIDATES:
These fellowships are held on a full-time basis. Therefore, simultaneous employment
elsewhere is not permitted. However, those desirous of pursuing higher studies but
employed presently, whether temporary or permanent, may apply with an undertaking
that, if selected, they will resign from the job before taking up the fellowship. The
application will be rejected if the undertaking is not provided.
STIPEND AND TENURE:
Rs. 42000/- per month during the entire tenure of fellowship or date of PhD viva-voce,
whichever is earlier. In addition, each SRF will receive a contingent grant of a maximum of Rs.
20,000/-p.a.
SRF will be tenable initially for a maximum of two years or depending upon the fellowship
tenure already availed. The term is extendable by one year on the basis of an assessment of
the progress already made as judged by a three-member assessment committee. Those who
have held or are holding equivalent fellowships awarded under various schemes of all India
grant-giving agencies such as DST, DBT, ICMR, UGC, ICAR, etc., may apply subject to the
condition that the total tenure inclusive of CSIR fellowship shall not exceed three years.
Those who have already availed, or would have availed by 31st December 2024, JRF for 5
years or SRF for 3 years from any source need not apply. The combined tenure of JRF and
SRF will not exceed five years. SRF will be terminated from the date of PhD viva voce or
completion of tenure, whichever is earlier. Those who are already holding equivalent
fellowship should specify the reason for applying. The application is likely to be rejected if
the reason is not specified.
B. RESEARCH ASSOCIATESHIPS:
ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS:
PhD (in science or engineering subject) or MD/MS/MDS (in medical science subject) or
ME/MTech/MPharm/MVSc with three years R&D experience as on the last date of
application, evidenced from fellowship or associateship or from date of registration of PhD.
PhD (science/engineering) thesis submitted is also eligible for RA’ship. Selection in such cases
will be subject to the condition that PhD viva-voce is done & declared qualified for the award
of PhD/awarded PhD degree before the expiry of the validity of the award offer.
The candidate applying for a Research Associateship must have at least one research
publication in a standard refereed journal as listed in Journal Citation Reports (JCR).
Employed candidates, whether temporary or permanent, and also those who have already
availed higher fellowships/associateships like Senior Research Associateships, etc., will not
be considered for RAship.
STIPEND:
The stipend of RA will be ₹ 58,000 for the entire tenure:
In addition, each RA will receive a contingent grant of a maximum of Rs. 20,000/-p.a.
TENURE:
RA will be tenable initially for one year. It may be extended further annually at the discretion
of CSIR based on the three-member assessment committee report. The total tenure of RA is
fixed for 3 years. Those who have availed or are holding equivalent Associateships under
various schemes of All-India grant-giving agencies such as DST, DBT, ICMR, UGC, ICAR, etc.,
may apply subject to the condition that the total tenure of RA, including that of CSIR, shall
not exceed three years.
Those who have already availed equivalent grants of any kind for three years shall not
apply.
C. OTHER CONDITIONS/INFORMATION:
AGE LIMIT:
Senior Research Fellow (SRF) : Maximum 32 years as on the last date of application.
Research Associate (RA) : Maximum 35 years as on the last date of application.
Upper age limit is relaxable by five years for SC/ST/Physically handicapped and women
candidates and three years in case of OBC (non-creamy layer) applicants.
SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR SRF/RA:
Selection will be made through interviews of candidates short-listed based on their academic
records, experience, research publications, and assessment of proposed research work by
discipline-wise high-level expert committees. The SC/ST candidates called for interview will
be paid single second-class rail/bus fare to and fro by the shortest route from the station
mentioned in the address for correspondence given in the online application form, from
(within India) to the place of interview on production of documentary proof as per rule in
force. Merely fulfilling the essential qualifications will not entitle a candidate to be called
for an interview. CSIR reserves the right to call or not to call a candidate for interview.
D. CANDIDATES APPLYING UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (ENVIRON/ 32):
Only those candidates desirous of working on one of the following broad topics may apply
under the Code ENVIRON / 32:
• Principles and scope of Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems, Pathways in Ecosystems,
Physicochemical and biological factors in the environment, etc.
• Structure and composition of atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere,
mass and energy transfer across various interfaces. Scale of meteorology, pressure,
temperature, precipitation, humidity, radiation and wind and atmospheric stability etc.
• Environmental chemistry, chemical composition of air, water chemistry, soil chemistry,
toxic chemicals in environment, air pollution, climate change, etc.
• Biodiversity and its conservation; microflora of atmosphere; environmental
biotechnology, endangered and threatened species; environmental genomics;
environmental health, environmental virology, environmental impact and risk
assessment, environmental materials, etc.
• Environmental geosciences- earth systems and biosphere; earth’s processes and
geological hazards, mineral resources and environment, water resources and
environment, land use planning, environmental geochemistry, etc.
• Solar radiation and its spectral characteristics, fossil fuels; physic-chemical
characteristics and energy content of coal, petroleum and natural gas; principles of
generation of hydroelectric power, geothermal energy, bioenergy- energy from
biomass and biogas, etc.
• Solid and Hazardous waste management, waste water technology and management,
etc.
Candidates applying under this code should have essential qualification as applicable to other
codes.
E. CANDIDATES APPLYING UNDER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES (STS / 71):
Only those candidates desirous of working on one of the following broad topics may apply
under Code STS/71:
• R & D Management (Planning, Priorities, Evaluation, Social and Economic Impact, etc.)
• Intellectual Property laws, Policies, Management and evaluation, etc.
• Technology forecasting, Assessment and Management;
• Policies, Programmes, and approaches for innovation policies, promotion instruments
and management;
• S & T Policies, Programmes and interface with global economic agenda.
• S & T interface with Society, Polity and Production sectors.
• Studies on Technological Change in the Production Sectors.
• Studies on mobility of S & T professionals: Demands, Trends, Impact, etc.
• Studies on International competitiveness of Indian S & T.
• Societal impact in the open economy era.
Subject code should be carefully selected (given in Appendix I), and it should be directly
related to past education & experience and future areas of study. Identification of irrelevant
code or code not matching the proposed research topic may lead to the rejection of the
application.
Candidates applying under this code should have essential qualifications as applicable to
other codes, with the exception that a degree at the master's level can also be in
management, social sciences, commerce, etc.
F. CANDIDATES APPLYING UNDER TRANS-DISCIPLINARY (TDR / 81):
The objective of fellowship/associateship in the transdisciplinary area is to encourage research
in new and emerging areas where boundaries between disciplines are transcended and
knowledge and perspectives from different disciplines are integrated.
Transdisciplinary research brings together two or more disciplines to generate new
knowledge through collaborations outside the limits of one’s own discipline.
Candidates applying under this code should have essential qualifications as applicable to
other codes.
Application received under this code and not having any Trans disciplinary component in the
proposed research topic may lead to rejection of the application.
Subject code should be carefully selected (given in Appendix I), and it should be directly
related to past education & experience and future areas of study. Identification of irrelevant
code or code not matching the proposed research topic may lead to the rejection of the
application.
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CANDIDATES
The candidates should carefully read these instructions before submitting their applications:
i. A candidate can apply in only one subject code. The code number of the subject
should be carefully selected (given in Appendix I) and indicated against the appropriate
column. It should be directly related to past education, experience, and future area of
study. Identification of irrelevant code or code not matching the proposed research
topic may lead to the rejection of the application. No change of code would be
permitted after submission of the online application.
Details from the time of obtaining the qualifying degree till the last date of application
should be mentioned clearly in column 19 of the application form. An unaccounted
period, if any, may lead to rejection.
ii. All the necessary documents, i.e. office orders supporting the research experience
mentioned in column 19 of the application form and proof of PhD registration, should be
attached. Otherwise, the application will be rejected. No testimonial will be accepted as
proof of research experience.
iii. Candidates should be prepared to produce an original certificate, PhD registration,
research experience (office orders), reprints & letter(s) of acceptance about papers
under publication, NET, and GATE certificate at the time of interview and later when
required.
iv. Applications will be processed on the basis of information provided in the online
application. (If the information given in the application form does not match with the
originals at the time of verification of documents, the candidate may not be allowed to
appear for the interview).
v. Those who have already applied three times and not called or not selected need not to
apply.
vi. The date of the interview will not be changed on request from candidates.
vii. Misrepresentation or hiding of facts shall lead to disqualification.
viii. Every effort is made by CSIR to have committees with wide-ranging expertise, however,
complaints of rejection on this account will not be entertained by CSIR.
ix. The decision of CSIR on all matters, including calling for interview, selection,
recommendation, placement, etc., shall be final. No correspondence in the matter will
be entertained.
x. The research supervisor should not be the blood relative.
xi. Canvassing in any form will be a disqualification. No interim enquiries will be attended
too.
There is no application fee.
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS
1) Candidates need to apply online only.
2) Candidates need to register themselves before applying online.
3)
Candidates are requested to carefully review the detailed advertisement
and CSIRHRDG website before filling out the online application form to
know the eligibility
criteria, prerequisites, and important online application instructions.
4) Read the FAQ section on the application portal to get answers to commonly asked
questions/queries.
5) Only one application per candidate will be accepted by the system.
6) Give your correct/working email ID, as all further correspondence will be through
email and CSIR - HRDG will not be responsible for any communication not received
due to an incorrect email ID.
7) To avoid a last-minute rush, candidates are advised to apply early and on time. CSIR
will not be responsible for the network or any other such problems. No extension on
the closing date will be given.
8) Once the application form is filled up, please save/submit it within 40 minutes;
otherwise, your session will expire, and you will need to re-login.
9) Candidates should keep ready the below documents as per given specifications.
(a) Photo
(b) Signature
(c) Age proof (DOB Certificate)
(d) Combined document: Qualifying degree + grade to % conversion certificate, if
any + PhD registration / submission/ award proof
(e) Caste certificate, if applicable then it is mandatory
(f) PwD certificate, if applicable, then it is mandatory
(g) Experience certificate (which includes fellowship/associateship OMs)
and Employed candidates have to submit duly signed undertaking for leaving the
job if get selected for the fellowship/associateship
(h) Combined document: Duly signed and stamped declaration and undertaking
form by the candidate, supervisor, and Head of the institution (The format is
available at https://srfra.csirhrdg.res.in/online/download/undertaking_SRF_RA.pdf) +
testimonials + Research Proposal
(i) Combined document: First page of maximum 3 best research Papers in a single
pdf, if applicable.
Photo: Format - JPEG/JPG, dimension – 130x160 to 260x320, file size less than 150KB;
Signature: Format - JPEG/JPG, dimension – 90X25 to 225x100, file size less than 150KB.
Documents: The documents should have a .pdf extension only, file size less than 400KB.
Valid Filename: Should have only one extension, only Alpha-Numeric characters allowed
with a hyphen (-) and underscore (_), space not allowed, the File extension should be in
small letters. (Ex. msc degree (❌), mscdegree (✓), msc_degree (✓), msc-degree (✓)).
More Info:
https://csirhrdg.res.in/SiteContent/ManagedContent/ATContent/Inviting_Applications_for_direct_SRF_RA_2024.pdf