LG interacts with first batch of selected fellows under the “Lieutenant Governor’s Sustainable Dev Fellowship”

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha met and interacted with the first batch of selected fellows under the “Lieutenant Governor’s Sustainable Development Fellowship (LGSDF)”, at the Raj Bhawan here Monday.
The objective of the programme, rolled out by the Lt Governor in July this year, is to provide an institutional platform for research related to enhancing delivery of Government Programmes for the graduates from IIMs, IITs, NITs, and other leading academic institutions who wish to pursue a career in the development sector and have an attitude of “giving back” to the society.
The Lt Governor interacted with the selected fellows coming from different areas of specialization and called them to utilize the platform to study the processes in local governance structure, identify the constraints, generate research, and optimize processes, wherever necessary.
LGSDF provides a unique and exciting opportunity for young professionals from Premier Institutes of UT to work towards promoting outreach, transparency, efficiency, and improving delivery of various Government Programmes, besides providing a fulfilling experience to the scholars through extensive work in the field followed by use of analytical tools and brainstorming to come up with solutions under the guidance of IIT Jammu task force.
The LGSD Fellowship 2021 received overall 791 applications in response to an open advertisement released on 15 July 2021. The online portal received applications from 15 July 2021 till 31 July. Overall 37 candidates were shortlisted in four different categories: Architecture, Civil, Culture/Tourism, and Information Technology.
After rigorous selection process, 09 candidates were finally shortlisted for the fellowship. They are from five different states and UTs of India including Jammu and Kashmir. The selected fellows were informed on 02 October 2021 and all of them reported at IIT Jammu for one-week intensive orientation program on 8 November 2021. After successful completion of the orientation program they will be affiliated with different departments of J&K government.
Initially, the tenure of fellowship will be for 2 years, which shall be further extendable by 3 years, besides an attractive fellowship is also being offered to the selected fellows.
The programme, which is being funded by the J&K Government and implemented in collaboration with IIT Jammu, will focus on providing immediate catalytic support to improve government service delivery, removing gaps in policy implementation, and generating valuable insights for policymakers and implementing agencies.
Sh Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Ms. Sushma Chauhan, Administrative Secretary, Higher Education Department; Prof. Manoj Singh Gaur, Director IIT-Jammu were present on the occasion.