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 postgraduate degrees in science can receive up to Rs.35.69 lakh over five years to pursue doctoral research in basic and applied sciences. The WISE-PDF scheme supports women aged 27 to 60 with PhDs in STEM, offering up to Rs.42.6 lakh over three years for laboratory-based research. Both fellowships follow a two-stage selection process: initial screening of project proposals submitted by candidates, followed by evaluation by Subject Expert Committees (SECs). WISE-PDF applicants who clear the initial screening also face an interview. In 2023-24, DST approved 100 projects under WISE-PhD which increased to 140 projects in 2024-25. DST recommended 108 projects under WISE-PDF in 2023-24 and 159 projects in 2024-25. DST officials did not respond to HT's queries seeking reasons behind delay in fund disbursement. Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union minister of state (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on July 31, 2025 said transition to new fund flow during the last three years "led to some difficulties in disbursement of fellowships". He said the government addressed these by releasing advanced fellowships, setting up helplines, and training stakeholders and added that DST released an advanced three-month fellowship (for January-March 2025) to host institutions of ongoing research scholars....