The Basic Early Career Fellowship is a five-year, full-time, mentored programme run by the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance. It supports recently qualified researchers and applicants with short postdoctoral experience to pursue an independent biomedical research question at an eligible host institution in India.
The research must include 6–24 months of work at an external laboratory in India or abroad, integrated into the project from the outset. Delivery is classified as in-person because the fellowship requires laboratory-based research at its Indian host institution and an external laboratory.
Benefits & funding
- The five-year award has a maximum allocation of ₹2.25 crore, including personal support, research costs, flexible funding and institutional overheads.
- Fellows without a host-institution salary may receive ₹1.45 lakh per month in years 1–2 and ₹1.55 lakh per month in years 3–5; salary top-ups are not permitted.
- The budget may support research expenses, up to two Project Assistants, work outside the host institution, and up to ₹7 lakh for conference travel across the fellowship.
- A pre-set flexible allowance of ₹1 lakh per year is included for eligible unanticipated costs.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be in the final year of a PhD or have no more than four years of post-PhD research experience at the full-application deadline; the first 2026 Phase III call exceptionally allowed five years.
- Applicants with an MD, MS, equivalent postgraduate medical degree or MPH may apply with a basic biomedical research proposal under the same experience limits.
- There is no age or nationality restriction, and no pre-existing regular position in India is required, but the research and primary host institution must be in India.
- Applicants must identify an eligible Indian host institution, a Fellowship Supervisor who is not their PhD thesis supervisor, and an external laboratory for the mandatory work-outside-host component.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Education required
Master · PhD Enrolled · PhD
Experience required
≤ 5 yrs
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Application process
- 1Submit an online preliminary application containing a 1,000-word proposal and a recommendation letter.
- 2If shortlisted, submit the invited full application and the required support letters through the India Alliance grants system.
- 3Full proposals undergo international peer review and committee assessment; shortlisted applicants attend an in-person interview before the final decision.
Program timeline
Applications opened for the first Phase III round.
Feb 2, 2026
Preliminary application deadline.
Mar 16, 2026