On 21 October 2015, students from JNU, Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Ambedkar University marched to the University Grants Commission (UGC) office at ITO in Delhi after the regulator resolved to discontinue the non-NET fellowship for new MPhil and PhD scholars. The sit-in outside the UGC, known as Occupy UGC, lasted more than 90 days and saw detentions and lathicharges on several dates. On 25 October HRD Minister Smriti Irani said the scheme was "not being discontinued", and the ministry set up a review committee, but students kept protesting over the committee's mandate to consider "economic and other criteria".
Key takeaways
- At a meeting on 7 October 2015 the UGC resolved to discontinue the non-NET fellowship for MPhil and PhD students at central universities from the next session, while continuing it for existing holders.
- About 100 students were detained on 23 October, and on 27 October organisers said at least 15 were injured in a lathicharge; a Delhi Police DCP said no one was lathicharged and that protesters attacked policewomen.
- On 25 October Smriti Irani said the scheme was "not being discontinued", and the ministry set up a review committee that would also consider "economic and other criteria" for eligibility.
- On 9 December police used lathis, tear gas and water cannons on a march towards Parliament; women students alleged sexual harassment, and police said protesters turned violent.
- The fellowship continued at central universities, but its amount has not been raised: in 2023 the JNU students' union and MP Shashi Tharoor said it was still Rs 8,000 a month for PhD scholars.
Background: what the non-NET fellowship is
The non-NET fellowship was introduced in 2006 to support MPhil and PhD scholars at central universities who did not hold a Junior Research Fellowship through the National Eligibility Test. In 2015 it was available at about 50 institutions and paid Rs 5,000 a month to MPhil students and Rs 8,000 to PhD students The Wire. PhD students got it for four years and MPhil students for 18 months, with a yearly contingency grant PTI via India TV.
Students had been asking for the amounts to be raised to Rs 8,000 and Rs 12,000, and for the scheme to be extended to state universities. An expert committee had been formed to look at these demands Newslaundry.
The UGC decision of 7 October
At its meeting of 7 October 2015, chaired by Ved Prakash, the UGC considered the expert committee's report. According to the minutes, it "resolved" to discontinue the scheme from the next academic session, while students already receiving it would continue "as per the existing guidelines" Newslaundry Deccan Herald.
Government's position The UGC said the scheme was discriminatory and lacked uniformity in selection between universities, and also cited a shortage of funds PTI via India TV. A UGC official said the scheme ran "on reimbursement basis without any UGC control on quality of students or outcomes", that "there were lots of complaints", and that the UGC had spent Rs 99.16 crore on it in 2014-15. An HRD ministry official said the scheme "was discriminatory as it was available to Central universities only" Deccan Herald.
Students and teachers rejected this. JNU professor Ayesha Kidwai wrote that every award passed through university selection, so any misuse lay with institutions, not students, and that the UGC could have extended the scheme to state universities itself The Wire (opinion). Protesters also linked the decision to budget cuts and to India's 2005 offer to open higher education to trade under the WTO's GATS talks, due in Nairobi in December 2015 The Quint.
The occupation begins
On the evening of 21 October, students from JNU, DU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Ambedkar University marched to the UGC office at ITO, broke barricades and demanded a meeting with chairman Ved Prakash, which did not happen. They then began an indefinite dharna PUDR. JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar said the protest started a day after the UGC uploaded the decision to its website The Wire.
The students had three main demands: do not scrap the fellowship, raise the amount, and extend it to state universities The Wire. When police cordoned off the lane to the UGC, students sat on the pavement, and some slept there for weeks. Similar protests were held by Jadavpur University students outside the UGC's regional office in Kolkata The Quint.
Timeline
UGC resolves to end the scheme
The commission's meeting resolves to discontinue the non-NET fellowship for new students from the next session Newslaundry.
March to the UGC
Students march to the UGC office at ITO and begin a sit-in PUDR.
About 100 detained
About 100 students are detained and released in the evening; UGC officials tell a delegation the decision will be reviewed PTI via India TV. Kanhaiya Kumar said 97 were taken to the Bhalswa police station The Wire.
Minister says the scheme stays
Smriti Irani meets an eight-member delegation including DU and JNU union representatives and tweets that the scheme is "Not being discontinued" PTI via India TV.
Meeting with the UGC chairman
A four-member delegation including Kanhaiya Kumar meets Ved Prakash. The delegation said he was "non committal" on economic and merit criteria Deccan Herald.
Lathicharge and detentions
Police lathicharge protesters who allegedly tried to break past barricades. Organisers say at least 15 are injured; a senior police official denies injuries Deccan Herald.
Review committee announced
The HRD ministry notifies a review committee on NET and non-NET fellowships, due to report by the end of the year SCC Online (MHRD release).
March to the HRD ministry
Around 700 students march from ITO to the ministry; Irani meets a delegation and repeats that the fellowship will not be discontinued The Quint.
March to Parliament stopped
Police use lathis, tear gas and water cannons near Feroz Shah Road; about 150 students are detained and later released The News Minute.
Road blockade and 90th day
Students block the road outside the ministry on 13 January and meet officials, not the minister. On 18 January, the 90th day, they announce a signature campaign and an all-India university strike for 18 February Sabrang India.
Police action and the two accounts
PUDR, a Delhi civil liberties group, said students were lathicharged on 23 October and again on 27 October, and that on the second date they were taken to the Kamla Market police station and beaten in the police bus. It also alleged that ABVP members who protested at the UGC the same day and "pelted stones" were left alone by police PUDR. These are the group's claims.
Protesters' account
Claim · Organisers Organiser Sunny Kumar said on 27 October that protesters "were chased by hundreds of policemen" and "isolated and beaten up brutally", and that they did not clash with police. The injured were taken to GB Pant and LNJP hospitals Deccan Herald. Kanhaiya Kumar said 33 students were detained that day, one student was hospitalised in critical condition and women were handled by male police JNUSU statement via Countercurrents.
Police account
Claim · Delhi Police A senior police official said: "Students tried to break past the barricade and they even attacked cops," and denied that students were injured Deccan Herald. DCP (Central) Paramaditya told The Indian Express: "Around 45-50 protesters were detained. No one was lathicharged. Policemen did not have lathis… the protesters attacked and injured policewomen." Indian Express, quoted by Kafila. Kafila, a blog, posted video shot by photojournalist Akhil Kumar that it said contradicted the DCP.
The 9 December march
Over 300 students set out from the UGC to march to Parliament on 9 December. Police stopped them near Feroz Shah Road and used tear gas and water cannons, and students were held at the Parliament Street police station for several hours The Caravan. A woman protester told The Indian Express: "They hit us with lathis on our head… we were handled by male constables, who misbehaved with us." The News Minute
Claim · Delhi Police DCP (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal said: "The force was used to stop them from marching towards Parliament. The scheduled path was ITO via Barakhamba Road to Jantar Mantar. But as the protesters reached Mandi House, they started running towards Firoze Shah Road. We tried to stop them at the Le-Maridien roundabout, where they turned violent and attacked police officials." The News Minute
On 14 December PUDR wrote to the Delhi Commission for Women asking for an inquiry into women students' allegations that they were groped and that their clothes were torn by male police, naming six officers PUDR. No outcome of any inquiry was found in the reporting reviewed.
The government's response and the review committee
Government's position On 25 October Irani tweeted: "Not being discontinued. Need to include state university students and direct benefit transfer (DBT) so that students accrue benefit directly." PTI via India TV
The ministry's release said a review committee would examine:
- whether more merit-based NET fellowships could be offered;
- a transparent monthly transfer of the fellowship, which was then paid on reimbursement;
- extending the scheme to more universities, including state universities;
- "economic and other criteria for eligibility for non-NET fellowships";
- guidelines for selection, coverage, award and administration.
It said "all the existing and continuing fellowships NET as well as Non-NET will continue to be in force" and that the committee's recommendations would not apply retrospectively SCC Online (MHRD release). The Wire reported that Irani issued formal orders to the UGC to drop its decision and set up a five-member expert committee The Wire.
Students objected to the words "economic and other criteria". AISA president Sucheta De said Irani was "trying to fool us with wordplay" and that the release said nothing about new students getting the fellowship Newslaundry. AISA said the minister had met only ABVP representatives. ABVP's Saurabh Kumar Sharma, JNUSU joint secretary, denied this, called the AISA protest "politically-motivated" and asked students to give the committee time Newslaundry.
Outcome
- Fellowship: The UGC decision was not implemented and the scheme continued at central universities. In 2022-23, 15,397 PhD scholars in 40 central universities received it, according to UGC Careers360.
- Review committee: In January 2016 the campaign said a committee meeting had been set for 16 January but no further date was fixed Sabrang India. No published report or recommendations were found in the reporting reviewed. In July 2016 The Wire wrote that there had been "no official revocation of the UGC decision" The Wire.
- State universities and amount: The scheme was not reported as extended to state universities or raised. In June 2017 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she had asked the HRD minister to restart non-NET fellowships and set aside Rs 20 crore of state funds for her state's research scholars IANS via Business Standard.
- Detentions: About 100 on 23 Oct and about 150 on 9 Dec, all released the same day. Counts for 27 Oct range from 33 (JNUSU) to 45-50 (police).
- Injuries: At least 15 on 27 Oct per organisers, denied by police; several on 9 Dec, treated at RML Hospital.
- Cases or inquiries: No police case against protesters or inquiry into police conduct was found in the reporting reviewed.
Where things stand now
The fellowship amount has not been revised since. In June 2023 the JNU students' union wrote to the UGC that it "has remained unchanged at Rs 8,000 since 2006" Careers360. In December 2023 Congress MP Shashi Tharoor raised the same point in the Lok Sabha and urged a hike PTI via Careers360. A March 2024 report said it was raised to Rs 8,000 in 2012, so sources differ on the year of the last revision, but all put it at Rs 8,000 Careers360. No 2025 or 2026 revision was found.
A 2026 retrospective in The Wire lists Occupy UGC alongside the Rohith Vemula protests and the JNU "sedition" case as part of a decade of student resistance The Wire.
Questions people ask
What was the Occupy UGC protest?
A sit-in by students outside the University Grants Commission office at ITO, Delhi, that began on 21 October 2015. It opposed the UGC's 7 October decision to stop the non-NET fellowship for new MPhil and PhD scholars at central universities.
What is the non-NET fellowship?
A UGC stipend started in 2006 for MPhil and PhD scholars at central universities who do not hold a NET-based Junior Research Fellowship. In 2015 it paid Rs 5,000 a month for MPhil and Rs 8,000 for PhD.
Why did the UGC want to scrap it?
The UGC said the scheme was discriminatory because it covered only central universities, lacked uniform selection and drew complaints of misuse. It also cited a shortage of funds.
Was the non-NET fellowship scrapped?
No. HRD Minister Smriti Irani said on 25 October 2015 that it was "not being discontinued", and the ministry said existing fellowships would continue. It was still paid at central universities in 2022-23.
Did police lathicharge the Occupy UGC protesters?
Students and PUDR say police lathicharged them on 23 and 27 October and 9 December 2015. Police said on 27 October that no one was lathicharged and that protesters attacked policewomen, and on 9 December that force was used after protesters turned violent.
What happened to the review committee?
It was announced on 28 October 2015 to report by year-end, including on "economic and other criteria" for eligibility. No published report was found, and in July 2016 The Wire said the UGC decision had not been formally revoked.
Sources
- Deccan Herald: UGC to stop non-NET fellowship scheme, 21 Oct 2015
- Deccan Herald: Centre plans to revise non-NET fellowships, 24 Oct 2015
- PTI via India TV: Non-NET fellowship not to be discontinued: Smriti Irani, 25 Oct 2015
- Deccan Herald: 'Occupy UGC' protest set to continue, 27 Oct 2015
- Countercurrents: Delhi Solidarity Group and JNUSU statement on 27 October lathicharge, 27 Oct 2015
- Deccan Herald: Students injured in lathicharge, 28 Oct 2015
- SCC Online: MHRD release on the review committee, 28 Oct 2015
- The Wire: The #Occupy UGC agitation is about saving Indian education (Ayesha Kidwai, opinion), 28 Oct 2015
- Kafila: Delhi Police statement quoted from The Indian Express, 28 Oct 2015
- Newslaundry: Is the government furtively trying to do away with non-NET fellowships?, 29 Oct 2015
- PUDR: Condemn Delhi Police brutality on protesting students, 2 Nov 2015
- The Quint: #OccupyUGC: Students protest against repeal of non-NET fellowship, 6 Nov 2015
- The Wire: What lies behind the 'Occupy UGC' protest, 24 Nov 2015
- The Caravan: Loose Cannons: how student protesters were attacked and detained, 10 Dec 2015
- The News Minute: Occupy UGC protesters accuse cops of manhandling and sexual harassment, 10 Dec 2015
- PUDR: Letter to the Delhi Commission for Women on the 9 December allegations, 14 Dec 2015
- Sabrang India: Education for all: join the #Occupy UGC national campaign, 18 Jan 2016
- The Wire: Smriti Irani's legacy: hard to forget and harder to forgive, 6 Jul 2016
- IANS via Business Standard: Bengal CM writes to HRD minister on UGC fellowships, 3 Jun 2017
- Careers360: JNUSU asks UGC to increase non-NET fellowships, 15 Jun 2023
- PTI via Careers360: Shashi Tharoor urges govt to hike stipend of non-NET research fellows, 7 Dec 2023
- Careers360: Delayed fellowships, resource shortage hit PhD scholars, 27 Mar 2024
- The Wire: Before we move on from Jantar Mantar, remember the past decade of student resistance, 25 Jul 2026