New Delhi, June 4 -- 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 researchers raising concerns that lack of funds have threatened their academic progress and 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 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 as senior research fellows (SRF). As of December 2023, 907 JRFs and 559 SRFs depend on the scheme. "Until 2022, everything was going smoothly... Then UGC said they would no longer be the nodal agency... our fellowships just stopped," said Nazia, a MANF scholar at Kashmir University. An official speaking on condition of anonymity acknowledged that funds exist but stated disbursement approval is pending....