Richie Rich scholars

The Prime Minister's Research Fellows Scheme (PMRFS) which aims to plug brain drain, is offering a pretty decent amount to graduate and post-graduate science and engineering students. 1,000 students will be eligible to apply under this scheme, that will have a tenure of five years - with each student receiving Rs 47 lakh.
However, the PMRFS is not the country's richest scholarship programme.

The most lavish fellowship may well be the J C Bose National Fellowship, named after eminent Indian physicist, Jagdish Chandra Bose, which can help make a researcher a multi-millionaire.
Spread over five years, the grant comes to a cool Rs 90 lakh, with the added benefit that one can keep availing of it till 68 years of age, in blocks of five year extensions. Moreover, unlike some fellowships which mandate the researchers to quit their full-time job, the J C Bose National Fellowship allows the selected candidate to retain their regular income.

The Ramanujan Fellowships are also aimed at stemming brain drain and encouraging scientists and engineers from overseas to come back to India for scientific research positions. Named after the mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, fellows selected for this programme earn Rs 86 lakh, spread over five years. However, unlike the J C Bose National Fellowship, the Ramanujan Fellowships do not grant any extension of term.

The Early Career Research Award (ECRA), as the name suggests, is aimed at providing financial support to young researchers in their first assignment, working full-time, in an institution with R&D capabilities. It offers Rs 50 lakh, excluding overheads, for a period of three years. This is a post-doctoral grant, with the upper age limit for applicants set at 37 years.

Offered by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), which comes under the Department of Science and Technology, the SERB Overseas Postdoctoral Fellowship aims at giving global exposure to Indian scientists in countries other than the US. Limited to a maximum of two years, it grants a total of Rs 47 lakh, with the upper age limit for researchers being 35 years.