New Delhi, July 19 -- The Union government has approved the release of pending stipends for scholars under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), ending a seven-month payment delay for over 1,400 PhD candidates from minority communities that had not received stipends since January 2025, officials said on Thursday. "The pending payments under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship have been released. A small step that means a lot to so many," Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X, further linking the resolution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and the government's commitment to inclusivity. The MANF scheme, established in 2009, 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 less than 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 as senior research fellows (SRF). As of December 2023, 907 JRFs and 559 SRFs depend on the scheme. HT reported on June 3 about the delays, with the researchers saying that the lack of funds has threatened their academic progress and basic sustenance....