Central Government Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship: $2,000 a Month for Research Abroad

10 November 2026, 10:58 PM • Harish Sharma • Category: All India Schemes

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News: Central Government Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship: $2,000 a Month for Research Abroad
Date: 10 November 2026, 10:58 PM
Author: Harish Sharma
Category: All India Schemes
Source: See the official portal for details — the link is inside the story.

Photo: Esculab, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

PhD students in India often want to spend some time doing research in a big laboratory abroad. The Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship (OVDF) is for exactly that. It is a scheme of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), which now comes under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). Working in a foreign laboratory gives the student a chance to learn new techniques and connect with international researchers. A selected PhD student gets US $2,000 a month and a ₹60,000 one-time allowance for research abroad. The fellowship lasts 12 to 18 months. Its aim is that Indian PhD students should get research training in frontier areas of science and engineering in foreign laboratories.

How much money is given

The OVDF fellowship pays as follows.

Fellowship: US $2,000 a month — for living and research abroad.
One-time allowance: ₹60,000 — for preparation and contingency, paid once.
Duration: 12 to 18 months — for research at the overseas institute.
Please note: some places mention $3,000 a month, but that amount belongs to other schemes — the OVDF amount is $2,000 a month.
This fellowship is given once during the PhD.

The allowance helps with the initial costs of travel, stay and setting up in the new country.

Who can apply

This fellowship is for students doing a PhD in India.

The applicant must be an Indian national.
Registered for a full-time PhD at an institute in India.
Subjects: science, technology, engineering, mathematics — including medicine, pharma and agriculture.
The thesis must not have been submitted — students who have submitted their thesis are not eligible.
Part-time or sponsored students are not eligible for this fellowship.
An offer letter from an overseas institute is needed, and that institute must have an MoU with SERB. The overseas institute should be a recognised university or research laboratory with good facilities.

How to apply

Applications are made online on the serb.gov.in portal. First get an offer letter from the overseas institute and consent from your PhD guide. Then fill the application on the portal and upload proof of PhD registration, the research proposal, the offer letter and the guide’s recommendation. The research proposal in the application should be clear and specific, because selection is based on it. The call for this fellowship comes every year. Before applying, do check the new call dates and conditions on the SERB website. Never pay anyone for applying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How much money is given under OVDF? A: US $2,000 a month and a ₹60,000 one-time allowance. Q2: For how many months is the fellowship given? A: For 12 to 18 months. Q3: Who can apply? A: Indian students doing a full-time PhD in India, whose thesis has not been submitted and who hold an offer letter from an overseas institute with an MoU with SERB. Q4: Where do I apply? A: On the serb.gov.in portal; the call comes every year.