Candidates must meet the following educational requirements:
- Hold a BS (4-year program), BE/B.Tech, Integrated BS-MS, M.Sc., or BSc (Hons) degree with at least 55% marks for General/OBC and 50% for SC/ST/PWD candidates.
- Must have qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by CSIR.
- Candidates with a bachelor's degree will be eligible for the fellowship only after enrolling in a Ph.D./Integrated Ph.D. program within the validity period of their JRF-NET certificate.