PHD Degree: UGC’s new initiative for research, top 10 PhD theses in the country will get excellence award, apply like this

Scholars doing excellent research work in Indian universities will now get the Excellence Award from UGC. UGC has decided to select the top 10 PhD theses in the country, those research scholars will now get different recognition in the country. Students and teachers from India as well as from all over the world will be able to know about the research work of the recipients of ‘PhD Excellence Award’. UGC Chairman Prof. M. Jagadish Kumar said that in the UGC meeting held on October 3, it has been decided that ‘Ph.D Excellence Citations’ will be awarded to recognize excellent PhD research work in Indian universities. UGC will also take feedback from students, teachers and general public regarding this decision. he/she said that the aim of this initiative is to recognize excellent doctoral research in various disciplines.

This decision has been taken keeping in mind the recommendations of the National Education Policy. In the new education policy, a lot of emphasis has been laid on research work and innovation. This decision will also help in strengthening the quality research ecosystem in the country because selecting the top 10 from the entire country will be a big challenge and those who will be selected after this challenge will be recognized by the world for their research work.

From which five streams will the top 10 be selected?

The five streams from which the top 10 PhD theses will be selected include Sciences (including Agricultural Sciences, Medical Sciences), Engineering and Technology, Social Sciences (including Education and Humanities), Indian Language and Commerce and Management stream.
Every year 2-2 PhD theses will be selected from these five streams. Research scholars from the country’s Central Universities, all State Universities, Private Universities and Deemed Universities will be within the scope of this decision, who will join the campaign to get their research work recognized at the global level.

What will be the selection process?

There will be a two level selection process. There will be a screening committee at the university level and the UGC selection committee will take a decision on the recommendations of the university. The university will form its own screening committee to shortlist the candidates and send its recommendations to the UGC.
An application portal will be created by UGC, on which universities will give information about the selected applications. The winners will be honored every year on Teacher’s Day i.e. 5th September.

What is the current status of research work:

According to UGC, the number of students doing PhD has increased in recent years. A study by UGC shows that in the year 2010-11, there were 77798 admissions in PhD, in 2017-18 this number more than doubled to 1,61,412, which shows an annual growth rate of 10 percent.
Those universities can participate in this campaign, which are recognized by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and recognized under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act. Universities can recommend 1-1 PhD thesis every year from all the five streams i.e. a total of five PhD theses.