India, June 7 -- More than 1,400 PhD scholars relying on the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) face mounting financial distress as stipend payments remain stalled since January 2025, with the researchers raising concerns that the lack of funds has threatened their academic progress and basic sustenance.

Introduced in 2009 by the Union ministry of minority affairs, MANF supports PhD candidates from minority communities -- including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis, who clear the National Eligibility Test (NET) and come from families earning under Rs.6 lakh annually.

Scholars receive Rs.37,000 monthly as junior research fellows (JRF) for the first two years, rising to Rs.42,000 for the subsequent three years ...