BENGALURU: University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently acted upon the suggestions made by Smriti Irani, HRD Minister and announced that women candidates alongside people with atleast 40 percent disability will be allowed more time to complete their PhD and MPhil. They will now have one extra year for finishing their MPhil papers and two extra years for submitting the PhD thesis, as reported by The Times of India.

After this decision comes into force, the maximum allotted time for completing MPhil would be three years and for PhD would be eight years. A provision of providing maternity leave of 240 days to all the women candidates who are pursuing PhD and MPhil courses is also there.

In addition to the extra time allotment, women candidates will enjoy several other benefits. If a female scholar has to relocate due to marriage or any other reason, her research data will be transferred from the current university to another university where she is shifting. The conditions to avail this facility are that the research is not funded by the parent guide or the institution, appropriate credit has to be given for the research already done.

UGC has made this decision in order to ensure increased enrollment of female and differently abled people in academics. It also aims to boost the number of females as faculty in colleges. This decision will be pertaining to only those candidates who have registered for MPhil and PhD degrees after July 11, 2009. The scholars will be awarded PhD degree only in regular mode and the rules of awarding the degrees remain unchanged.

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