15 Best Fellowship Programs in India 2023: How to Apply, Dates

Fellowship programs are short-term professional courses of almost 15 months which help candidates to get specialized in a particular field. There are a number of fellowship programs in the field of teaching, volunteering at NGOs, climate change study, etc. through which candidates can make their career. It actually a bit different from regular courses as it focuses on social changes in the country which can change the living habits of the villagers, which can bring socio-economic changes in the country. The undergraduates, postgraduates or any professionals can pursue in the below-listed programs.

15 Best Fellowship Programs in India 2023

HHH Fellowship

HHH fellowship is basically the Head Held High fellowship program supported by the TATA trust. It motivates candidates to work as trainers delivering the HHH transformative program to rural youth. This programme actually focuses on providing the rural, corporate and international youth with an opportunity to become certified trainers to transform illiterates into capable workers.

MIC i.e. Make India Capable is one of its programs that works to develop skills in villagers so that they can be on their own feet. It started in 2008 & it’s prevailing today with its success.

Acumen Regional Fellows India

The Acumen Fellowship program is an intensive leadership development program focusing on cultivating social changemakers in society. Candidates being in their job can pursue this. The aspirants get an opportunity to participate in multi-day immersive seminars and engaging in online content between seminars. Currently operating in Colombia, East Africa, Malaysia, Bangladesh,  India, and West Africa. The Fellows Program equips leaders from across the country or region with the knowledge, skills and community to become more effective agents of change in a country.

Shashtri Research Student Fellowship

This fellowship is offered by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute for Bachelor, Masters, doctoral candidates, post-doctoral scholars & M.Phil candidates enrolled in degree programmes in recognised Indian & Canadian universities or institutions to undertake research in areas/ fields in which scholars may desire/require research experience in Canada/India. In general applicants from almost all fields of studies like Social Sciences and Humanities, Arts, Commerce & Management and STEM subjects can apply for this fellowship. But the applications from SICI & priority areas of MHRD, Government of India i.e. Food Security and Sustainable Development, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Securing Future of Children and Youth, Higher Education, Water Resource Management, Gender, Bi-lateral Trade and Investment,   Agricultural Science & Technology, Teacher Education and Training, Health Sciences, Nursing, Marine Sciences and Ocean Studies is invited under this programme.

Gandhi Fellowship Program

It is a 2 year residential, professional program that focuses on developing young change leaders who embody and practise leadership skills that are needed to cause large scale social and public systems to change. This is open to all graduates or postgraduates. Those who are below 26 years of age are also eligible to apply for this.

William J.Clinton Fellowship for Service in India

This is 10 months volunteer service program for fellows who are interested in working on scalable and sustainable development projects in the fields of education, livelihoods, and public health. Through collaboration and capacity-building, Fellows, AIF(American Indian Foundation) and civil society leaders form dynamic partnerships to capacity-build, exchange knowledge and skills, and share a mutual passion for advancing social and economic development. To apply for this fellowship a candidate must be of minimum 21 years & maximum 34 years. One should have completed a minimum Bachelor’s degree before the start of the program. The application process for the 2020-21 cycle has been closed. 

Teach for India

The Teach for India is a fellowship program that provides an opportunity for the nation’s youth to serve as full-time teachers to children from low-income communities in some of the nation’s most under-resourced schools. Candidates from any degree, experienced professionals & entrepreneurs can apply for this fellowship. The selection process of Teach for India is conducted in three stages – Application form submission & online test, Phone interview & Group discussion & problem-solving activity.

SBI Youth for India

The SBI Youth for India fellowship program is a 13 monthly program divided into 3-phases familiarization, implementation & sustenance. It is recognised as the flagship program of the SBI foundation which motivates the nation’s youth on rural development projects in partnership with experienced NGOs. To apply for this program a candidate must be an Indian citizen or overseas citizen of India, should have completed Bachelor’s before August 2020 & the age should be between 21 – 32 years as on 01 August 2021.  The above-mentioned fellowship programs will really help in getting exposure to international opportunities as it all has collaborations with outside organizations or NGOs too.

Apply here for SBI Youth For India

The Vedic Scholars Programme for Women

Vedic Scholars Programme for Women ensures that young women are trained in a way so that they can make personal, social and professional decisions in a skilled and superior manner. This actually focuses on overall improvement & development of women in the country who can make socio-economic changes in society. Under this, there are four programmes namely –  the ‘Mastering Management Practice’ track will offer courses in marketing, operations, innovation, organisational behaviour, accounting, finance,  strategy, problem-solving, decision making, business planning, business ethics, supply chains, network businesses, sales, collaboration, and women’s entrepreneurship, ‘Learning from the Liberal Arts’ – it focuses on micro and macroeconomics, public policy – design and impact, India’s rich cultural heritage, comparative politics, sociology, history, psychology, women’s studies, development, international relations, world religions, cinema studies, philosophy and literature, ‘Thinking & Communicating for Impact’- it emphasizes on logic, analysis and structure; and in communications such as written, oral and visual communication skills. This will include business writing, drafting reports and proposals, presentation skills, social media and external engagement including blogging, the art of conversations, listening and asserting, visibility and public speaking, and finally interviewing skills the last one is ‘Taking Charge of Personal Growth’- under this the women are taught their own personal growth & then leading the self, leading others and leading change, collaborative leadership and the skills required for it, influencing without authority, group dynamics and followership, building trust, the mind of a leader, and an entire module dedicated to the new wisdom around women’s leadership and what it takes to succeed as a woman professional. Admission for 2020-21 is open candidates can apply on its official website.

The Naropa Fellowship

The Naropa Fellowship aims at providing leadership to the Himalayan region people & Ladakh people who can bring impactful changes in those regions. It actually interests in eco-tourism, cultural and heritage preservation, entrepreneurship, sustainable development and education, and empower them to contribute to the development of the Himalayan region. 

It emphasizes educating young generations of the Himalayan regions who can bring socio-economic changes in those areas & also can focus on maintaining the culture & heritage of those regions. The registration for 2020 is ongoing on its official website, seeking candidates can apply and can make a career.

India Fellow Social Leadership Programme

India Fellow Social Leadership program helps youth to become socially conscious leaders of tomorrow. In the 13 months course, the India Fellows spend 12 months working full time on demanding projects, write blogs, complete training assignments and at the same time engage deeply with their cohort and fellowship team. 

The candidates have to fulfil the eligibility criteria to apply for this fellowship. One should be between 21 to 28 years of age. An Indian citizen with a Graduation degree is eligible to apply. 

Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University

The Young India Fellowship (YIF) is a one-year multidisciplinary postgraduate diploma programme in Liberal Studies. The Fellowship brings together a group of around 300 promising young individuals, selected through a rigorous and elaborate search for passionate achievers with a desire to bring about social changes in a country which can really help to to reduce illiteracy, poverty, etc. The candidates from engineering to design, film to agriculture, medicine to art, and law to journalism, being amidst diverse peers enables cross-flow of ideas and learning are invited to apply.

To be eligible for YIF one should have passed an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in any discipline (may also be a final year student, or have work experience) with an above-average academic record and not be more than 28 years of age.

Plaksha Tech Leaders Fellowship

The Plaksha Tech Leaders Fellowship is a 1-year fellowship fully residential PG program to nurture leaders in technology who are passionate about designing scalable tech-centric solutions, constantly tinkering, making and trying new ideas and who are really interested in making a bigger impact in society. 

The candidates should be recent graduate, working professional or entrepreneur. Also, unlike a basic understanding of programming i.e. sufficient coding experience in at least one high-level language such as Python/C/C++/R/JAVA etc.is required and a strong grasp of mathematical concepts, specifically in the areas of probability, statistics and linear algebra.

The above-mentioned fellowship programs will really help in getting exposure to international opportunities as it all has collaborations with outside organizations or NGOs too.

See Careers That Define The Next Decade 2020-2030