GUIDELINES FOR JOINING ICMR–NURTURING CLINICAL SCIENTISTS (NCS) SCHEME

1.

Register for Ph.D. degree in the proposed Institute/Organization, under a suitable Guide and submit the following documents (listed in point no. 2) within one year of Issue of NCS award letter by ICMR, duly signed and with seal of the Guide and Head of the Institution, for the fellowship to activated and joining to be accepted. Candidate should carryout research in the area of ICMR Health Research.

2.

a.

Ph.D. registration document

b.

Detailed Research proposal (format enclosed- Annexure-2)

b.

Joining report (original copy) mentioning exact date of joining (indicating forenoon/ afternoon), recent photo duly signed and seal/rubber stamp (Guide) and Head of the Institute's name (format enclosed- Annexure-4).

c.

Undertaking by the candidate forwarded through Guide (format enclosed- Annexure-5)

3.

In the event of the Clinical Scientist is not able to submit the Ph.D. registration document within the above mentioned time period of one year, then the fellowship will be cancelled immediately AND if the he/she leaves before completing one year, he/she will be required to refund the entire salary and contingency drawn by him/her from the date of joining to the date of leaving the fellowship.

4.

The Clinical Scientist will not be allowed transfer from one institution to another after completion of one year as a Clinical Scientist, except in special circumstances which will be reviewed  by the ICMR and only if the Expert Committee and the DG, ICMR permits transfer will be given, otherwise the fellowship will be terminated immediately.

NOTE: The research proposal will not be changed under such circumstances and the date of joining will be the initial joining date only. No Travel Allowance (TA) from the contingency will be paid as a result of such a transfer.

5.

Submit the following after 10 months of joining

a.

First Annual Progress Report (APR) (format enclosed- Annexure-6), along with the IEC approval letter (if applicable) for the research work, and the NIE Health research Course completion certificate (mandatory)

b.

Statement of Accounts/Expenditures duly forwarded by concerned administrative authority. (format enclosed- Annexure-7)

6.

Submit the following after 22 months of joining

a.

Second APR (format same as 5a)

b.

Statement of Accounts/Expenditures duly forwarded by concerned administrative authority (format same as 5b)

7.

Submit in the final year /completing (3rd) year

a.

Final Work done report, Summary of Ph.D. thesis, full thesis may be sent in CD.

b.

Ph.D. Degree (attested copy), Research Papers published from the thesis work in JCR indexed journals with due acknowledgement to ICMR in thesis and papers.

c.

Final Statement of Accounts/Expenditures duly forwarded by concerned administrative authority (format same as 5b).

NOTE:

1. Annual Utilization Certificate (UC) is needed from April to March every financial year

2. No change in the Title of the Research work is permitted after submission of 1st Annual Progress Report (APR), changes if any, should be informed prior to the ICMR with due approvals from the Institute Research Committee or IEC. Changes made in the proposal without prior information/approvals from ICMR will not be allowed.

3. Detailed Fellowship Rules and Regulations given below

Please follow all rules and regulations strictly; failure in following any of the given Rules and Guidelines will be subjected to the immediate termination of the fellowship by ICMR.

ICMR- NURTURING CLINICAL SCIENTISTS (NCS)- RULES

1. JOINING

1.1

Candidates who have been selected and have been issued Award letter from ICMR are eligible to avail the fellowship subjected to submission of Ph.D. registration document & Detailed Research proposal, within one year from the date of the issue of the award letter for activation of the fellowship.

1.2

The applicants must fulfill the following conditions:

1.2.1

The Joining and Undertaking should be sent through the Guide and the Head of the Institute where the applicant proposes to work for Ph.D. If employed, a certificate from his/her employer to accept the fellowship should be submitted.

1.2.2

The applicant should not draw any stipend or salary or be in receipt of any other type of financial assistance except leave salary during the fellowship. A certificate to this effect must be furnished by the applicant is proposed to be carried out during the fellowship must be submitted with the application.

1.2.3

A detailed plan of work, for a specific time bound research project on which research has to be carried out should be submitted along with the Joining and Undertaking report.

1.2.4

The problem to be studied should be well defined. It should relate to a particular aspect of a problem and not be of a general nature and should be capable of completion within the fellowship period.

1.2.5

The Detailed research proposal must be prepared as given in Annexure-2. A Statistician should be consulted for the preparation of the plan of work, where considered necessary.

1.2.6

The Guide under whose guidance the work will be carried out should certify that the research plan has been prepared in consultation with him/her, and in consultation with a Statistician where

considered necessary, and that he/she has examined the scheme and approves the plan of work and that he/she is willing to guide and direct the research work proposed therein.

1.2.7

The Head of the Institution, where research work will be carried out, must certify that full

Equipments, laboratory and other facilities are available in the Institution for the proposed work and these will be made available to the applicant. It should be noted that no funds shall be provided for the purchase of equipments or non-expendable articles of use. In addition, the Academic Council or equivalent committee of the Institute must recommend the project proposal

1.2.8

All projects involving human beings/animals must be cleared by the Institutional Ethics

1.2.9

Committee/Animal Ethical Committee of the Institute as applicable.

IEC/IAEC approval for the project work proposed should have been obtained in time, to avoid unnecessary delays in starting the research work and submission of annual progress reports in time and to avoid delay in release of the fellowship amount and terminations. ICMR is not responsible for the administrative and institutional delays for doctoral committee meetings, IEC/IAEC meetings.

2. EMOLUMENTS /REMUNERATIONS:

2.1    ICMR Clinical Scientists will be paid a consolidated salary of Rs. One lakh per month, (No HRA) and Research Contingency of Rs. Three lakhs for three years (Rs. 1.0 lakhs per year to be utilized for research work)

2.2    The fellowship amount will be paid to the concerned institute/organization/university/medical college, in every six months.                  

3. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL

3.1      The Clinical Scientist will not be treated as an employee of the ICMR.

3.2    The Clinical Scientist will be under the administrative control of the Institution where he/she will working for the Ph. D. work and will be subject to the Rules and Regulations of the Institute concerned, in addition to following of ICMR rules also.

3.3      The fellowship of the Clinical Scientist will be terminated on the completion of three years or submission of Ph.D. thesis, whichever is earlier.

4. LEAVE:

4.1      Leave with salary not exceeding 45 days for each completed year of tenure may be allowed by the Guide. This will be treated as part of the Clinical Scientist’s tenure.

4.2     The leave due can be carried over to the next year. However, not more than 90 days' leave can be accumulated at any time during the tenure. Of this not more than 30 days can be availed of prior to completion of the tenure of fellowship.

4.3      During the first year of fellowship or any uncompleted year, leave can be granted on pro- rata basis.

4.4    Sanction of leave without salary can be considered by ICMR under special circumstances.

4.5     Leave with salary equivalent to Maternity leave will also be admissible to female Fellows as per govt. rules.

4.6    The fellowship amount for leave period will be paid after the Clinical Scientist resumes duty and submits a medical certificate in support of actual confinement. It is expected that the Clinical Scientist will make up the deficiency during the remaining tenure.

4.7     Casual leave will be admissible according to the rules of the Institution where the Clinical Scientist is placed for work.

4.8        Leave without salary can be granted up to one month in a year.

4.9     No other kind of leave such as sick leave will be admissible. Fellows are not entitled to the vacation normally admissible to the staff of an Institution.

NOTE:

• Leave will be treated as a part of the tenure of fellowship.

5. OTHER IN-ADMISSIBLE BENEFITS

5.1       No HRA & No Medical Benefits.

5.2      Medical benefits will be allowed to a Clinical Scientist as per the rules of the Institution where they are working. ICMR will not bear any financial burden in this regard.

5.3      Leave Salary and Other Service Benefits: Clinical Scientist’s are not entitled for DA, CCA, Bonus and LTC.

6. ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS (APRs):

6.1     The Clinical Scientist shall submit APRs only as per the prescribed standard ICMR Pro-forma. (Annexure-6)

6.2       The first APR should be submitted after 10 months from the date of commencement/activation of the fellowship, giving complete factual details of the research work done, through the Guide along with his/her appraisal.

6.3        Subsequent APRs as per the standard pro-forma shall be submitted through the Guide two months before the completion of each fellowship year.

6.4         Further continuation of fellowship for each year will depend upon the progress of work.

6.5         Failure to submit APRs in time may necessitate the immediate termination of fellowship.

6.6      Two copies of the final report, duly typed clearly, as per standard pro-forma, of the work done during the tenure of fellowship, will be submitted in the last month before the completion of termination of fellowship.

6.7     A list of the papers published or presented at a Scientific Conference during the term of the fellowship should also be furnished in the annual and final reports.

6.8     The work done can be utilized for submission of thesis for a degree after obtaining prior approval of the Director General, ICMR. Due acknowledgement to the ICMR, should, however, be made in the thesis by the Clinical Scientist’s.

7. PAYMENT OF FUNDS

7.1      The ICMR will pay the fellowship stipend and the contingent grant to the Head of the Institute for disbursement to the Clinical Scientist. The University/Institution shall be responsible for proper utilization of the grant and for rendition of accounts to ICMR.

7.2        The payment of stipends and contingent expenditure will be governed by the following procedure:

a).  Grant to cover fellowship salary and contingencies for the Clinical Scientist will be paid to the Head of the Institutions in four quarterly installments. The first installment will be released as soon as the Ph.D. registration document along with the Joining & Undertaking report, duly forwarded by the Guide is received by ICMR, regarding the assumption of charge by the Clinical Scientist.

b).  At the end of every three months from the date of commencement of the fellowship, a simple statement of  expenditure incurred from the previous installment and a demand for the next installment will be sent to the ICMR.

c). The next installment will be released only on receipt of a statement of expenditure for the previous installment.

d). The last three months grants salary, contingency may be released only after the certificate of submission of Ph.D. thesis is submitted to ICMR.

7.3     A separate Receipts and Payments Account should be maintained by the Host Institution. The accounts will be subject to audit by the authorized auditors of the Host Institution. At the end of the financial year, an audited statement of account along with the utilization certificate shall be submitted to the ICMR.

7.4       Further grants will not be released by ICMR unless audited statements of accounts and utilization certificates are received within a period of one year after the end of one financial year for which the grant was sanctioned / released.

7.5         Any unspent balance out of the grant paid by the ICMR will be refunded in full to the ICMR.

7.6       The Head of the Institution & Guide will, in the matter of payment of stipend and incurring of contingent expenditure, strictly observe the terms and conditions under which the fellowship is awarded.

8. TRAVEL

8.1        The ICMR approval has to be taken prior in order for the following purpose:

1. Attending symposium/seminar/conference provided the Clinical Scientist is presenting a paper, which has been accepted by the organizers of the symposium/seminar/ conference related only to his/her proposed NCS research work for Ph.D.
2. Fieldwork connected with the research project

8.2      The expenditure on this account will be met from the contingent grant sanctioned to the Clinical Scientist.

9. TRANSFER OF FELLOWSHIP

9.1     The Clinical Scientist should carefully choose the host Institution, guide/supervisor, availability of necessary infrastructural and other facilities etc. to carry out his/her research work before joining. Request for transfer of fellowship will not be entertained after completing one year as a Clinical Scientist in a particular institution/organization, except on compelling circumstances for which the fellow & his/her guide should submit proper justification, which will be reviewed by the ICMR and only if the Expert Committee and the DG, ICMR permits transfer will be given (No T.A. will be paid as a result of such a transfer, the date of joining will remain the same as that of the initial parent institute), otherwise the fellowship will be terminated immediately.

9.2      In case of transfer within one year, the ‘No Objection’ Certificate should also be produced by the Clinical Scientist from the Guide & Head of Department of University/Institute from where transfer is sought and consent of the Guide/Host Institute where fellowship is sought to be transferred by giving proper valid reasons of transfer.

9.3        No Clinical Scientist will be allowed to join another Institute without seeking prior approval from ICMR. If the Clinical Scientist leaves the parent Institute/University and joins elsewhere without prior informing to the ICMR or without approvals of ICMR, his/her fellowship will be terminated from the date of resignation from his/her institution/organization where he/she joined initially. 

9.4        The three years tenure will be counted from the date of initial joining in the parent /Host Institute and not the second date of joining in other institute if the institute transfer is approved by the ICMR.

9.5        The research proposal will NOT be allowed to change under any circumstances after completion of one year as a NCS, even if a transfer is taken.