IndiaAI Fellowship 2026-27: who can apply, how much, and the last date

The Government of India will fund your AI project. The IndiaAI Fellowship 2026-27 is open now, and the last date to apply is 30 November 2026. If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student working on AI, it is worth your time.

In this post: what the fellowship gives, who can apply, how to apply, and some tips. We checked each fact against the sources at the end of this post. Rules can change, so always confirm on the official portal before you apply.

What is the IndiaAI Fellowship?

It is part of the IndiaAI Mission, run by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It comes under IndiaAI FutureSkills, the part of the mission that builds AI skills. The fellowship gives students money to work on an AI project or research.

How much money?

• UG and IDD students: up to ₹1 lakh for their project. (UG means undergraduate. IDD means integrated dual degree.)
• PG students: up to ₹2 lakh. (PG means postgraduate.)
• Extra support: up to ₹1 lakh to present a research paper at a well-known international AI conference.

"Up to" means the exact amount can depend on your project.

Who can apply?

The official IndiaAI announcement lists these students:

• 3-year UG degree: from the 5th semester.
• 4-year UG degree: from the 7th semester (for example, B.Tech).
• 5-year IDD degree: from the 9th semester.
• PG degree: in semesters 1 to 3.

Other rules reported for this round:

• You should have done at least three full-time AI-related courses.
• Minimum marks: news reports for this round say 70% or a 7.0 CGPA. An older rule on the portal says 80% or an 8.0 CGPA for UG students. Check the portal for the rule that applies to you.
• PG students in the 2nd or 3rd semester must keep the same marks in the semesters they have finished.
• The portal says only Indian nationals can apply.

What about PhD students?

There is a separate IndiaAI PhD Fellowship with its own rules and dates. News reports say this round is only for first-year PhD scholars at institutions recognised on the IndiaAI portal. Check the portal before you plan on it.

How to apply

1. 1Write down your AI project idea clearly: the problem, your method, and what you will build or find out.
2. 2Talk to your project guide or Head of Department early. Your application needs an endorsement letter from the Head of the Institution, the Head of Department or your project guide. Your guide must also certify your project details.
3. 3Register and apply on the official portal: fellowship.indiaai.gov.in.
4. 4Upload your marks, course details and the endorsement letter.
5. 5Submit before 30 November 2026. Do not wait for the last day. Government portals can be slow near a deadline.

Talk to your college first

The portal says it considers only the top 10 nominations per category from one institute. If many students at your college apply, your college may have to choose. Ask your department how they are handling it.

Few students got it last year

A report by a Parliament committee, presented in August 2026, shows that far fewer fellowships were given than planned. In 2025, 159 UG fellowships were given against a target of 8,000, and 101 PG fellowships against a target of 5,000. Only the PhD track beat its target.

This does not mean every applicant will be selected. But it suggests there is room for many more good projects. The same report says the Finance Ministry approved only half of the budget MeitY asked for in 2026-27, so money may be tighter this year.

Tips for a strong project idea

• Solve a real problem you can explain in one sentence, for example finding crop disease from phone photos, or answering questions in your local language.
• Keep it small. A project you can finish in a few months is better than a big idea you cannot finish.
• Use open data and open models, and say how you will test if your project works.
• Show what you have already done: a course project, a GitHub repository or a short report.

Never done a research project before? Read how to start research as a student. At APJ-RAISE, students work on AI research in small teams. If you want help shaping your project idea, you can join us for free.