In a new development, University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced the ‘PhD Excellence Citation’ to honour exceptional research achievements annually across multiple academic fields. This annual award aims to recognize outstanding PhD researchers from disciplines such as science, engineering, social sciences, and Indian languages.

Each year, ten citations will be awarded to highlight research that excels in originality, contribution to knowledge, methodology, clarity, impact, and presentation quality.

UGC has outlined a rigid, two-stage evaluation process for selecting recipients. First, a university-level screening committee will assess nominations, followed by a final selection committee at the UGC level, ensuring that only top-quality research is recognized.