The State government has issued orders for implementing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Fellowship Programme (TNCMFP) during 2022-24 at an estimated total cost of ₹5.66 crore.
While 24 persons would get the fellowship for researching in 12 identified thematic areas (two fellows for each area) for synergies in implementation, monitoring and evaluation by grouping the various departments and schemes, another six more would be in the Monitoring Cell of the Special Programme Implementation Department.
Research will be done in 12 areas to: 1) augment water resources, 2) increase agricultural production and create marketing linkages, 3) provide housing for all, 4) improve educational standards, 5) boost health indicators, 6) achieve social inclusion, 7) upgrade infrastructure and facilitate industrial development, 8) provide skill development and entrepreneurship development, 9) facilitate institutional credit, 10) protect heritage and culture, 11) achieve ecological balance and 12) enhance data governance.
The selected Fellows’ primary role will be to monitor, identify issues, and aid data-driven decision-making regarding the assigned programmes to address the gaps and optimise the service delivery. They have to undertake visits to districts to assess ground situation, elicit feedbacks and assist in appropriate follow-up actions.
They will get a monthly remuneration of ₹50,000 each and an additional allowance of ₹10,000 each to meet their incidental expenses.
“Appropriately placed under the Chief Minister’s Office/departments concerned, the Fellows will monitor, identify issues and aid in decision making in respect of the assigned programmes to address the gaps and optimise qualitative delivery of services,” a G.O. issued in this regard said.
TNCMFP aims to create a pool of knowledgeable and action-oriented resources to work on policy efficacy, identify gaps, build internationally referred benchmarks for policy and programme outcomes. It also aims to evolve a ‘programme structure’, to conceive and implement a framework of monitoring and evaluation, to develop the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for service delivery, among other objectives.
Bharathidasan Institute of Management in Tiruchi, which is functioning as a not-for-profit society, registered under the Societies Registration Act, has been proposed to be the academic partner for the fellowships. A detailed Memorandum of Understanding is to be entered into with BIM in this regard.
The State government also issued orders to accord financial sanction for a sum of ₹41.75 lakh for the financial year 2021-2022. The selection process of the Fellows would have three stages: preliminary assessment (internet-based test), comprehensive examination (written examination) and a personal interview.
A candidate must hold a first class in bachelor’s degree in respect of professional courses, (Engineering, Medicine, Law, Agriculture, Veterinary Science) or first class in Master’s degree in Arts/Science from any of the universities. Candidates with a Ph.D. would be preferred. Work experience would be an added advantage and working knowledge of Tamil is mandatory.
The candidates must be aged between 22-30 years at the time of applying for fellowship. For candidates belonging to SC/ST category, the maximum age limit shall be 35 years and for candidates belonging to BC/MBC category, it shall be 33 years. “The reservation policy of the Government of Tamil Nadu followed in admissions to academic institutions will apply.”
