The "Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana" (KVPY) is a program started in 1999 by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India to encourage students of Basic Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to take up research careers in these areas. The aim of the program is to identify and encourage talented students with aptitude for research.

This program strives to assist the students to realise their potential and to ensure that the best scientific talent is developed for research and growth in the country. Generous scholarship and contingency grant are provided (up to the pre-Ph.D. level) to the selected students. In addition, summer programs for the KVPY Fellows are organized in prestigious research and educational institutions in the country.

The KVPY is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The program is administered by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore). The selection of students from those studying in +1, +2, any U.G. Program in Science / Medicine and also Engineering students having aptitude for scientific research, are carried out by IISc (Bangalore), IIT-Bombay (Mumbai), and ICMR (New Delhi), respectively, in association with two Zonal Centers one at Kolkata (Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Kolkata) and another at Mumbai (HBCSE, TIFR). There are special groups or committees set up at IISc, which screen the applications, conduct interviews at various centers, make the final selection.

The Department of Science and Technology - the nodal agency of the Government has entrusted the overall responsibility for organizing the scheme to the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and set up a National Advisory Committee (NAC) for overseeing its implementation. A Basic Committee and a National Scientific Committee look after both the administrative and academic aspects of

ELIGIBILITY

Basic Sciences

Stream SA: Students enrolled in the XI Standard (Science Subjects) during the academic year 2011-2012 and have secured a minimum of 80% (70% for SC/ST) marks in aggregate in MATHEMATICS and SCIENCE subjects in the X Standard Board Examination.

Stream SX: Students enrolled in Class 12 (+2) of the academic year 2011 - 2012 and aspiring to join undergraduate program in Basic Sciences (B.Sc/B.S./Int. M.Sc) for the session 2012 - 2013 provided they secured a minimum of 80% (70% for SC/ST) marks in aggregate in MATHEMATICS and SCIENCE subjects in the X Standard Board Examination.

Stream SB: Students enrolled in 1st year B. Sc./B.S./Int. M.Sc. during the academic year 2011–2012 and have secured a minimum of 60% (50% for SC/ST) marks in aggregate in SCIENCE subjects in the XII Standard Board Examination.

the KVPY Program.

FELLOWSHIPS

Continuation of fellowship

Annual renewal of fellowships will depend on maintaining a good academic performance (I Class or 60% marks in aggregate) in each academic year in the chosen stream and satisfactory performance in the Summer Programs. Note that KVPY Fellows who opt out of the chosen stream (Basic Science or Medicine) at any stage will forfeit the Fellowship and Contingency Grant with immediate effect. The fellowship for the students selected under the stream SA will be continued after the 12th standard (+2) only if they pursue an undergraduate course in Basic Science (B.Sc./B.S./Int. M.Sc.)

Privileges

Summer programs are important parts of the nurture program for KVPY Fellows. These are meant to expose the Fellows to methods of scientific research and inculcate in them an abiding interest in doing scientific research. These are normally organized during the summer vacation, when KVPY Fellows spend one or two weeks in scientific institutions listening to lectures by experts in different fields of science, engineering or medicine, see things in a research environment, science in action, watch scientists at work, interact with scientists, visit nearby scientific research laboratories and institutions, and exchange views with other research students. Sometimes Fellows with specific interest are associated with individual scientists who talk to them about their interest, help them clear their doubts, give them problem to work out, let them to do experiments, and tell them about the future scope in the area of their interest.

The Summer Program for KVPY Fellows in the Basic Science Stream is arranged either at Bangalore or Kolkata or Allahabad or Mumbai or Pune or Mohali or Trivandrum for One / Two weeks.

The Summer Program for KVPY Fellows in the Engineering Stream is organized by IIT-Bombay. The Fellows get an opportunity to work on innovative projects under the guidance of distinguished engineering faculty.

KVPY Fellows in the Medicine Stream are required to attend a summer program for two weeks or more on a mutually convenient time of the fellow and the mentor who may be identified by the fellow in consultation with ICMR, New Delhi.

Other Privileges

Each KVPY Fellow will be issued with an Identity card so as to have access to renowned National laboratories/ Universities who have agreed to extend special privileges like library, laboratory facilities to KVPY Fellows on production of the ID card.

Our Hope

KVPY hopes that the award of the Fellowship to student is an encouragement and an opportunities that they derive from it will expose them to research in the subject of their liking and induce them to choose a research career in science. This would really be a fulfilment of the main objective of the KVPY program.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

Basic Sciences (SA, SX and SB)

After scrutiny of application forms and based on the performance in the Board Examination(s), all the eligible candidates from Streams SA, SX and SB have to appear for a written aptitude test (conducted both in Hindi and English). The test will be conducted at different centers across the country on 30th October 2011. The details of the venue of the aptitude tests will be put on the KVPY website in October 2011. Based on the performance in the aptitude test, candidates will be called for the interview which is the final stage of the selection procedure.

The question paper in SA Stream will be multiple choice objective type. In the objective type, 4 choices for the correct answer will be provided and the choice for the correct answer has to be made.