The Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) scheme offers 120 fellowship positions across three career tracks for Indian-origin researchers abroad — with financial support, relocation assistance, and placement at India’s top research institutions.
India’s Ministry of Education has launched the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) scheme — a structured fellowship initiative to attract distinguished Indian-origin scientists and researchers currently working abroad back into the country’s research ecosystem. The scheme is open for applications now at pmrc.education.gov.in.
This initiative is significant for researchers evaluating a return to India. It comes with a defined financial package, institutional support, and a clear five-year commitment from the government to enable high-quality, uninterrupted research on Indian soil.
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What is the PMRC Scheme?
The Prime Minister Research Chair scheme is a flagship programme under India’s national science and technology policy framework. It offers 120 fellowship positions for Indian-origin researchers based abroad, across three career tracks. Each position runs for five years and comes with a comprehensive support package designed to make the transition back to research in India practical and financially viable.
Fellows are placed at host institutions within India’s NIRF Top 100 universities, as well as premier national laboratories under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). These institutions represent some of the most well-resourced research environments currently available in India.
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Fellowship benefits: What researchers receive
The inclusion of relocation support is a deliberate and practical acknowledgement that the financial and logistical cost of moving is a real deterrent. For researchers with families, established lab networks, or ongoing international collaborations, this kind of structured support lowers a significant barrier to considering research in India as a genuine career option.
The three fellowship tracks
The PMRC is structured around three tracks that account for career stage — an important design choice, since the needs and circumstances of an early-career post-doc differ substantially from those of a tenured international professor.
Who should apply?
The scheme is open to researchers of Indian origin currently based abroad, at any stage covered by the three tracks. Eligible candidates should have a completed PhD and a verifiable track record of research output appropriate to their career stage. Applications are assessed based on research quality, alignment with strategic domains, and the potential for institutional impact.
If you are evaluating a return and want to understand how your research profile maps to the available tracks, the official application portal provides detailed eligibility criteria and domain guidelines.
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