Rajya Sabha Fellowships on Parliamentary Studies

Scheme for Instituting Chair in the Name of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and Rajya Sabha Fellowships on Parliamentary Studies

 

Preamble

1. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has decided to institute a Chair named after Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the first Vice-President of India and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, with the objective of promoting an indepth inquiry and research on different aspects of parliamentary democracy, in general, and Indian Parliament and Rajya Sabha, in particular. Two Fellowships to be named 'Rajya Sabha Fellowships for Parliamentary Studies' will also be instituted. This, it is felt, would promote better understanding of the functioning of our Parliament; help document the changing nature and role of our parliamentary institutions and enable appreciation of the challenges faced by these institutions in the era of globalisation. This initiative on the part of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat is, thus, intended to create a critical mass of academic research with a body of knowledge on the functioning of our parliamentary democracy.

 

Part A: Search and Advisory Committee

(i) Composition of Search and Advisory Committee

2. A Search and Advisory Committee shall assist the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, in the selection of the Chair and the Fellows as well as their management.

3. The Search and Advisory Committee shall consist of five members, namely two members of Rajya Sabha – one each nominated by the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha; two prominent academics to be nominated by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha; and Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha.

4. Secretary-General will function as the Convener of the Search Committee.

(ii) Functions of Search and Advisory Committee

5. The Search and Advisory Committee shall assist the Chairman in the selection of the Chair and the Fellows. As per the directions of the Chairman, it may be required to draw up a panel of names for the purpose.

6. In addition, the Search and Advisory Committee may be required to perform the following functions:

· Identification of areas of research and study;

· Monitoring and appraisal of the performance of the Chair and the Fellows; and

· Any other matter that may be referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha from time to time.

(iii) Tenure of Search and Advisory Committee and its Members

7. The tenure of the Search and Advisory Committee shall be two years. Chairman, Rajya Sabha may extend its tenure at his discretion.

8. An existing member of the Search and Advisory Committee, upon its reconstitution, may be re-nominated on the Search and Advisory Committee.

(iv) Admissibility of TA/DA to the Members of the Committee

9. Members of the Committee shall be paid TA/ DA for national and local travel, as per the rules applicable to Members of Parliament or the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, as the case may be, as and when they may be required to travel in connection with the work of the Committee. Members, except Members of Parliament during Session days and the Secretary-General, shall also be paid Rs. 1000/- as a token honorarium for each meeting of the Committee.

 

Part B: Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Chair on Parliamentary Studies

(i) Eligibility

10. The Chair is open to eminent scholars, who have a proven record of scholarship and publications in the study of the Indian political system and parliamentary institutions/systems and their functioning.

(ii) Duration

11. The tenure of the Chair will be for two years.

(iii) Responsibilities

12. The Chair shall be required to provide research output in the form of a book/report in the course of its tenure, in terms of the directions of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha. The Chair shall be required to submit progress report of the research project regularly for the consideration of the Search and Advisory Committee.

13. The Chair would give three/four lectures on the subjects related to the research project during its tenure, which would be organised under the auspices of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

(iv) Location of Chair

14. The Chair will be located at the institution of choice of the individual holding the Chair.

(v) Mode of Selection

15. The advertisement inviting applications for the Chair shall be published in reputed academic journals and national newspapers. The advertisement will also be placed on the website of Rajya Sabha.

16. The applicant will be required to send in his/her particulars in the prescribed format (Annexure-I) duly filled in, along with the synopsis of his/her proposal.

17. All major Universities and reputed educational research institutions, such as the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), Indian Council of Historical Research, Indian Institute of Public Administration, as well as reputed think tanks from the relevant areas, are requested to forward names of suitable candidates to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for consideration by the Search and Advisory Committee.

18. The proposals received shall be placed before the Search and Advisory Committee. The Committee shall consider and recommend a panel of the names to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, for grant of Chair.

19. The applicant shall be required to produce a 'No Objection Certificate' from his/her institution for taking up the assignment. After selection of the Chair, a letter of acceptance/MOU from the institution, where the scholar wants to be located, would also be required to be produced.

(vi) Research Grant

20. The research grant for the Chair shall be Rs. 7 lakhs for the entire period. The schedule of release of the grant will be as follows:-

(a) 20% of the amount payable at the time of the initial appointment;

(b) 30% of the amount after the submission of the first draft of the book/project report;

(c) 30% of the amount after the submission of the final draft of the book/project report. The final draft shall be submitted not later than three months before the end of the tenure of the Chair; and

(d) the remaining amount shall be paid after approval of book/project report by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha.

21. The entire cost of the research project shall have to be met by the Chair out of Research Grant mentioned above.

 

Part C: Rajya Sabha Fellowships on Parliamentary Studies

22. There would be two Fellowships on Parliamentary Studies. The Fellows selected would work out their research project in consultation with the Search and Advisory Committee, and subject to the approval of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha.

(i) Eligibility

23. The Fellowship is open to academics/experts, who have relevant experience in and aptitude for undertaking research in Indian democratic system and parliamentary institutions and their functioning, particularly of the Rajya Sabha. Due consideration would be given to individual's qualifications, his/her past experience, standard research publications to his/her credit, in making the selection.

(ii) Duration

24. Fellowship shall be for a duration of one year.

(iii) Responsibilities

25. The Fellow will be required to provide research output in the form of a publishable article/project report in the course of his/her tenure, in terms of the direction of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha. He/She shall also submit a progress report on the work done, after six months, for consideration of the Search and Advisory Committee.

(iv) Location of Fellowship

26. The Fellowships on Parliamentary Studies will be located at the institutions of choice of the individuals selected for the fellowships.

(v) Mode of Selection

27. The Fellows would be selected by the Search and Advisory Committee in consultation with the Chair. The process of selection will be the same as mentioned in the case of the Chair in Part B (v).

(vi) Fellowship Grant

28. The total amount of each Fellowship Grant will be Rs. 3 lakhs for a period of one year. The schedule of the release of the funds will be as follows:-

(a) 20% of the amount payable at the time of the selection;

(b) 30% of the amount after the submission of the first draft of the article/project report;

(c) 30% of the amount after the submission of the final draft of the article/project report. The final draft shall be submitted not later than two months before the end of the tenure; and

(d) the remaining amount shall be paid after approval of article/project report by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha.

29. The entire cost of the research project shall have to be met by the Fellows out of the Fellowship Grant mentioned above.

 

Part D: General Conditions for Chair/Fellowships

(1) Guidelines for submission of proposals of research from Chair/Fellow

30. While submitting the proposal, the format may broadly conform to the following order of points and guidelines:

(i) Title of the Project

(ii) Statement of the Problem: In the opening paragraphs of the research proposal, the problem to be investigated should be stated clearly and briefly. The significance of the problem in the theoretical context of the concerned discipline should be specified.

(iii) Overview of Literature: Summarizing the current status of research in the area including major findings, the project proposal should clearly demonstrate the relevance or otherwise of the findings or approaches for the investigation of the problem at hand.

(iv) Conceptual Framework: Given the problem and the theoretical perspective for investigation of the problem, the proposal should clearly indicate the concepts to be used and demonstrate their relevance for the study. It should further specify the empirical dimension, if any, that needs to be explored for investigating the problem.

(v) Research Questions or Hypotheses: Given the conceptual framework and dimensions of the problem, specific questions to be answered and hypotheses to be tested through the proposed study should be explicitly formulated, compatible with the research design.

(vi) Coverage : In the light of the questions raised or the hypotheses proposed to be tested, if the sampling becomes necessary, full information on the following points should be given:

(a) Universe of the Study,

(b) Sampling Frame, and

(c) Units of Observation and Sampling size.

If the Study requires any control groups, they should be specifically mentioned. An explanation of the determination of size and type of the sample shall also be necessary. Proposals not requiring a sample selection should specify their strategy appropriately and describe the rationale.

(vii) Methodology: A suitable description of the methods of research for the study may be given.

(viii) Data Collection : The different types of data that are proposed to be gathered should be specifically mentioned. The sources for each type and the tools and techniques that will be used for collecting different types of data should be specified.

(ix) Time Budgeting : The project should be broken up in suitable stages and the time required for the completion of each stage of work should be specified.

(x) Bibliography

(2) Undertaking for Chair/Fellowships

31. An applicant selected for the Chair/Fellowship will have to sign an Undertaking and Conditions attached thereto separately (Annexure-IIA / Annexure-IIB). He/she will also have to handover all the data/material collected On the topic of the Chair/Fellowship to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat upon completion of the project/report.

(3) Library Facility

32. The Chair/Fellow may be provided the facility to have access to Parliament Library for consultation.

(4) Publication Assistance

33. If the final output of the Chair/Fellowship is recommended by the Search and Advisory Committee for publication and subsequently approved by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, the applicant shall be required to enter into an agreement with a reputed publisher for the publication of the book and a copy of the agreement may be provided to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

34. In case publication assistance is granted by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the Chair/Fellow shall supply twenty-five copies of the publication on complimentary basis to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. In case publication assistance is not granted by Rajya Sabha Secretariat or the Chair/Fellow does not seek any assistance and intends to publish it on his own, the Secretariat may invoke the 'Disclaimer Clause' and grant permission for the same. In that case he will supply five copies of the publication to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on complimentary basis. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat will retain the copyright on the publications.

35. The following text shall be prominently printed on the back of the inner title page of the book for which publication grant has been provided by the Secretariat:

"The publication of the book has been financially supported by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The responsibility for the facts stated or opinions expressed is entirely of the author and not of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat".

 (5) Decision of the Chairman

36. The decision of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha will be final in all matters concerning the Chair/Fellowships.

Further Details: http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/fellowship/fellowship_scheme.htm

Download Application Form: http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/fellowship/application.pdf