PhD fellowships in Maharashtra

Which Maharashtra institute funds your PhD: BARTI, SARTHI, MAHAJYOTI or TRTI?

Which institute you go to depends on your community. Every institute runs its own fellowship. But the basic conditions are same for all four. You should be a Maharashtra resident, studying full-time, and your PhD registration should be confirmed (permanent).

In the paperwork you will see two more institute names. The TRTI portal invites ARTI candidates also. The 2024 resolution mentions AMRUT, which is for open-category scholars from economically weaker families. When we checked in September 2026, we did not find any PhD fellowship advertisement from AMRUT.

The 35 in the age column is not our typing mistake. BARTI’s 2026 guidelines put the upper age at 35 on 1 June of the fellowship year, and they quote UGC-NET practice as the basis. TRTI’s STRF-2025 notice says 45. SARTHI’s scheme document and MAHAJYOTI’s scheme page also say 45. Four papers, two numbers, so go by your own institute’s call.

What did the 2024 and 2026 government resolutions change?

It all began with a Social Justice Department GR of 30 October 2023. That GR formed a committee under the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) to bring the schemes of BARTI, SARTHI, MAHAJYOTI and TRTI in line with each other. The catching up took a long time. You can make out that from BARTI’s August 2026 advertisement, which covered three registration years, 2023, 2024 and 2025, in a single call.

After that came the resolution of 25 July 2024. It was issued following a cabinet decision of 11 July 2024. This GR cleared the old pending applications and put new caps.

• Those who applied under advertisements issued before the 2023 resolution were to get the fellowship at a flat 50% rate, once documents were checked and an affidavit was given. The numbers were 763 at BARTI, 1,329 at SARTHI and 1,453 at MAHAJYOTI, so 3,545 in total.
• For BARTI, SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI, the cap went up from 200 to 300 fellowships each. TRTI’s cap went from 100 to 200.
• UGC guidelines were to be followed in the schemes. Benefit was to be counted from date of award.

There is one more resolution, dated 1 July 2026. BARTI quotes it in its advertisement, but we could not find the resolution itself online. As per that resolution, each institute gets 100 fellowships per year, divided by stream. Science and technology gets 55%. Humanities and social sciences get 25%. Interdisciplinary studies get 10%, and commerce and management also get 10%. So it is only one third of the 300 per year that the 2024 resolution allowed for BARTI, SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI.

How are the 2023 to 2025 backlog fellowships being selected?

The new rules are written out most fully in BARTI’s August 2026 advertisement. It called for applications on the common portal at fellowship.trti-maha.in. As per the TRTI portal, candidates of TRTI, BARTI, ARTI, SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI all apply there only. For BANRF, the conditions are these.

• A qualifying test cleared in your PhD registration year or in the year before it. So for a 2023 registration, the result should be from 2022 or 2023. NET, CSIR-NET, GATE, GPAT, ICAR and AcSIR tests are counted, and so are SET, MCAER and a university PET.
• Minimum B+ grade in your postgraduate degree.
• Family income not more than ₹8 lakh a year.
• Permanent PhD registration at a Maharashtra public or deemed university, a recognised research centre in an affiliated college, a central university, or a national institute set up by Act of Parliament.

No entrance test is held for this. In place of a test, the advertisement gives a preference order. National-test holders get first preference, then SET and MCAER holders, and PET holders come last. This order is applied within the stream shares and within the reservations for women (30%), disabled candidates (5%) and orphans (1%). The final priority list is left to a committee under the TRTI Commissioner. If your registration is from 2023, apply for the 2023 year only, not for a later year. Applications were open from 1 to 31 August 2026, and the date was extended to 15 September. Then BARTI’s declaration of 15 September 2026 extended it once more, till 30 September.

MAHAJYOTI had a separate window for the 2024 and 2025 fellowship years. Permanent registration from 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2025 was needed. A paper copy also had to go to its Nagpur office. Its circular dated 31 August 2026 extended both to 15 September 2026.

TRTI’s STRF-2025 notice was meant for ST scholars with a confirmed 2025 registration. It asked for B+ in the PG degree and a NET, SET, GATE, GPAT or equivalent research eligibility test. Online form alone was not enough. Within eight days a paper copy also had to reach TRTI. In this notice, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups get preference.

Scholars with only a PET should expect to be at the end of the list. 100 seats a year, split four ways by stream, is not much. Inside each stream the national-test and SET holders are taken up first, and PET holders are reached only after them.

• Identity and residence: Aadhaar, PAN and your Maharashtra domicile certificate.
• Community: caste certificate and the caste validity certificate (TRTI makes it compulsory, and BARTI asks for it if you already have one). SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI also need a current non-creamy layer certificate.
• Income: income certificate. For BARTI and TRTI, family income has to be within ₹8 lakh a year.
• Marks: mark sheets of 10th, 12th, graduation and postgraduation, and your NET, SET, GATE, PET or M.Phil documents.
• PhD papers: admission receipt, the guide allotment letter and acceptance letter, RAC or RRC approval, the confirmation (permanent registration) letter, and a joining report printed on the research centre’s letterhead.
• Declarations: a self-declaration saying you have no job and no other fellowship. Later you also give the undertaking on stamp paper.

How much does each fellowship pay, and is HRA included?

The four schemes don’t pay the same amount, and on extras like HRA the documents give different answers.

Be careful with BANRF. Its 2026 advertisement says in bold that no benefit other than the fellowship will be paid, such as house rent or contingency. SARTHI’s and MAHAJYOTI’s pages still give HRA and contingency informations, but neither page has a date on it. So plan your monthly expenses on the stipend alone, till your award letter says you will get more. For TRTI, the July 2025 STRF call said the benefits of the 2023 resolution and the 2024 letter will apply. The July 2026 notice gives no rupee figure.

When the payment starts also affects how much you finally get. BANRF counts its five years from your PhD registration date and not from the award. So ask BARTI how the months between registration and award will be treated. SARTHI pays from its award letter or from your joining date, whichever is later. Also, SARTHI pays only for the balance period of the PhD.

What will you have to report once the fellowship starts?

We are going by BARTI’s 2026 guidelines here, because they say the most about reporting. You start as JRF for two years. For SRF you file a three-member committee report plus an upgradation certificate. These have to be filed within three months after you complete two years from registration. One published paper is also asked, minimum. First choice is Web of Science or Scopus, preferably Q1 or Q2, but AHCI, the ABCD index or another peer-reviewed journal is also accepted. On top of this, your Research Advisory Committee has to give you a positive six-monthly review.

Every six months you submit a progress report signed by your guide and the principal, along with biometric attendance sheet from the research centre. Your money is released only as you finish coursework, get the synopsis approved and publish. The regular stipend stops when you give the pre-synopsis presentation. The last six months are paid only after the university’s PhD notification comes. First time doing this reporting? See our guides on RAC progress reports and publication requirements. Pre-synopsis rules of two big universities are covered in our SPPU and Mumbai University thesis guides.

During the fellowship you cannot do any job, whether it is full-time, part-time or clock-hour. You give an undertaking on ₹500 stamp paper saying this. JRFs may be asked to help the department in teaching, labs or fieldwork, for up to ten hours a week. SARTHI is more strict. If you are working anywhere, you have to resign and send a relieving letter to SARTHI before the fellowship begins. TRTI asks for 75% attendance, and an undertaking within seven days of selection.