The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to establish a "Ph.D. Excellence Citation" to recognise outstanding PhD research work in universities across the country. The commission has approved guidelines for this decision and will display these guidelines in the public domain for obtaining feedback.
UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar told IANS, "This initiative is set to recognise outstanding doctoral research across a range of disciplines. In alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, which emphasises the creation and exploration of new knowledge as vital to India's future, the "Ph.D. Excellence Citation" is an effort to identify and honour exemplary research work in Indian universities."
As envisaged in the National Education Policy 2020, exploring new frontiers of knowledge is the central doctrine to make India a knowledge superpower.
Accordingly, to promote good quality research in Indian universities, the UGC has instituted the "Ph.D. Excellence Citation" to identify and felicitate the winners from different streams annually.
A study conducted by the UGC on the Ph.Ds awarded from 2011 to 2018 provided some important insights to frame the guidelines. The study indicates a growing trend in the number of students opting to pursue research degrees.
The total Ph.D. admissions doubled from 77,798 in 2010-11 to 1,61,412 in 2017-18. The implicit growth rates in these numbers show that the overall Ph.D. admissions increased at the rate of 10 percent per annum during the period, Kumar added.
According to the UGC, the objective of this recognition is to create a quality research ecosystem to identify high-quality Ph.D. work among young research scholars and recognise them.
Research scholars who have successfully defended their theses in Indian universities, such as state universities, central universities, private universities, and deemed to be universities are eligible to apply. UGC will award 10 Ph.D. Excellence Citations (two citations from each discipline). Universities that have been recognised under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act and accredited by NAAC are eligible to participate in the Ph.D. Excellence Citation. Every university may nominate up to five theses in a year, one from each of the five disciplines, from the Ph.D. degrees awarded through convocation from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year.
Every year, UGC should felicitate the winners of the Ph.D. Excellence award on September 5, commemorating the Teachers’ Day.
According to the UGC, the thesis should demonstrate original thinking and innovative approaches to a specific research problem or topic.