New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- The results for two flagship fellowships of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) -- Women in Science and Engineering (WISE-PhD) and WISE-Post Doctoral Fellowships (WISE-PDF), designed to enhance women's participation in science and technology --- have been stuck for up to 15 months, leaving hundreds of first generation aspiring scientists in limbo about their academic future.

Even those who have secured these fellowships are struggling, with research grants delayed by up to 18 months. The delays have come at a time when women constitute only 18.6% of the total 362,000 personnel directly engaged in research and development (R&D) activities in India.

Under the WISE-PhD scheme, women aged 27 to 45 with post...