Searching for “Piramal Fellowship”? You’ve landed in the right place — officially, it’s called the Gandhi Fellowship, run by the Piramal Foundation’s Piramal School of Leadership (PSL) initiative. The brand name and the official name are different, and that trips up a lot of applicants.
Started in 2008, Gandhi Fellowship is one of India’s oldest and largest leadership-development fellowships for graduates. It’s a 23-month residential program where fellows work directly with government school systems — headmasters, teachers, block and district education officials — to improve public education delivery.
At a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Official Name | Gandhi Fellowship |
| Also Searched As | Piramal Fellowship, Piramal School of Leadership Fellowship |
| Run By | Piramal Foundation, in partnership with Kaivalya Education Foundation |
| Duration | 23 months, full-time residential |
| Monthly Stipend | ₹24,500 (₹7,000/month held back as a security deposit, refunded on completion) |
| Medical Cover | Medical, life, and accidental insurance for the full 23 months |
| Eligibility | Graduate, or completing degree by June 2026 |
| Age | Up to 25 years (26–29 with 1+ year of full-time work experience) |
| Locations | 27 states and 2 union territories across India |
Eligibility for Gandhi Fellowship
You’re eligible if you:
- Are a graduate, or will complete your degree by June 2026
- Have a minimum cumulative score of 55% across 10th, 12th, graduation, and post-graduation (where applicable)
- Are up to 25 years old — or 26 to 29 years old with at least one year of full-time work experience
- Haven’t previously joined and dropped out of the Gandhi Fellowship (no re-applications after an incomplete stint)
There’s no restriction on academic stream. Fellows have historically come from IITs, NITs, TISS, Miranda House, BHU, Christ University, and Don Bosco, among many others.
Gandhi Fellowship Stipend & Benefits
Let’s clear up the stipend confusion first, since a lot of outdated pages online still quote older figures.
Monthly stipend: ₹24,500, inclusive of all expenses and adjusted by location. Of this, ₹7,000/month is retained as a security deposit and paid out as a lump sum at the end of the 23 months, once you’ve completed the program successfully.
Other support:
- Medical, life, and accidental insurance for the entire duration
- A tablet or laptop for the fellowship period
- A two-wheeler for local travel at your posting location
- 30 days of semester break, plus 3 fixed and 9 festive/floater leaves across the 23 months
What Fellows Actually Do
Gandhi Fellows are placed with government school systems, working alongside headmasters, teachers, and district/block-level education officials. The role isn’t classroom teaching in the traditional sense — it’s closer to systems-level improvement work: strengthening how public education is delivered, supporting teacher capacity, and running community-level education initiatives.
The program runs on a “Plan – Act – Reflect” cycle, backed by a leadership curriculum, monthly workshops, boot camps, field support, community immersion, and structured one-on-ones.
Fellows are placed across 27 states and 2 union territories, including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the North-Eastern states. You don’t get to pick your location — placement depends on your background, work experience, interests, and how you perform through the selection process.
How to Apply
- Go to the Gandhi Fellowship application portal and click “Apply Now.”
- Fill in the application form with accurate personal, academic, and background details.
- Answer the reflective/essay questions carefully — these are where the panel gauges motivation, not just credentials. Take your time here.
- Submit, and wait for the fellowship team to review and reach out with next steps.
The official FAQ doesn’t publish a detailed, stage-by-stage breakdown of interviews or assessments for the current 2026-28 cycle, so treat the portal itself as the source of truth once you register — it’ll walk you through what’s next after each step.
On deadlines: the last confirmed application closing date found for a prior cycle (2025-27) was 31 March 2025. No specific 2026-28 deadline is currently public — check the portal directly, since Gandhi Fellowship cohorts have historically run on annual cycles starting around February–March.
Life During the Fellowship
A few things worth knowing before you apply:
- You’re placed away from your home state in most cases, and you don’t get to live with a parent or partner during the fellowship (visits are allowed with prior authorization).
- It’s a genuinely intensive 23 months — most activities happen in groups, so random personal breaks outside the scheduled calendar aren’t the norm.
- You cannot extend the fellowship beyond 23 months, and re-joining after an incomplete stint isn’t allowed.
Career After Gandhi Fellowship
The fellowship isn’t sector-locked. Alumni move into a wide range of paths post-completion — social entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship roles, development-sector jobs, and beyond. The Gandhi Fellowship’s alumni support team (called NEST — Network, Engage, Support, Transfer Knowledge) helps with mock interviews, CV building, and career planning in the final semester.
FAQs
1. Is Gandhi Fellowship the same as Piramal Fellowship? Yes. “Piramal Fellowship” is how people commonly search for it, but the official name is Gandhi Fellowship, run under the Piramal Foundation’s Piramal School of Leadership initiative.
2. What is the Gandhi Fellowship stipend for 2026? ₹24,500 per month, with ₹7,000/month held as a security deposit that’s paid out on successful completion of the 23-month program.
3. Is medical insurance provided? Yes — medical, life, and accidental insurance are provided for the full duration of the fellowship.
4. What’s the age limit to apply? Up to 25 years. Candidates aged 26 to 29 can also apply, but need at least one year of full-time work experience.
5. Can I choose my placement location? No. Location is assigned based on your educational background, work experience, interests, and how you perform through selection. Gandhi Fellowship operates across 27 states and 2 union territories.
6. Is this only for education-background graduates? No — any stream is eligible. Fellows have come from engineering, humanities, social sciences, and more.
7. Can I reapply if I didn’t complete the fellowship earlier? No. Candidates who previously joined but didn’t complete the Gandhi Fellowship aren’t eligible to reapply.