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The All India Council for Technical Education launched the AICTE Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship Programme (AIEDFP) on 3 September 2026.
The programme has a projected outlay of Rs 245 crore over five years and will support 150 PhD fellowships.
Fellows receive Rs 60,000 a month plus HRA for the first three years and Rs 70,000 a month plus HRA for the next two.
Each scholar may also receive an Innovation Grant of up to Rs 10 lakh for prototype development, testing, field trials and validation.
The scheme targets transdisciplinary research that links higher education institutions, industry and the startup ecosystem, with an optional 6-12 month industry stint.
To fund doctoral research that produces tangible outcomes in innovation, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, commercialisation and societal impact, rather than publications alone.
Key: A two-tier stipend rising from Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 a month over five years, paired with an Innovation Grant of up to Rs 10 lakh for translating research into a working prototype or service.
The Act that converted AICTE - set up in 1945 as an advisory body - into a statutory council with powers for the planning, coordinated development and qualitative improvement of technical education across India.
Statutory apex body for technical education under the Ministry of Education; grants approval to technical institutions and frames norms and standards. Established 1945 as an advisory body, made statutory by the AICTE Act, 1987.
The parent ministry for AICTE, the UGC and technical and school education; renamed from the Ministry of Human Resource Development in July 2020.
GS Paper II > Government policies and interventions in education; GS Paper III > Innovation and research ecosystem
General Awareness > Schemes and statutory bodies
AICTE Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship Programme - a five-year doctoral fellowship for application-oriented research launched in September 2026.
A grant of up to Rs 10 lakh per AIEDFP scholar for prototyping, testing, field trials and validation, over and above the stipend.
A body created by an Act of Parliament or a state legislature; AICTE became one under the AICTE Act, 1987.