In a notification released on Thursday, UGC announced that terminal MPhil/ PhD students shall be granted an extension of 6 months to submit their theses. The extended deadline now is 30th June 2021.
"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the universities have remained closed for the past several months. Therefore, the students have not been able to conduct their research/ experiments in the university laboratories nor were they able to access library services that are critical for completion of the thesis," the notification explained.
Universities have been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, UGC announced an extension of 6 months till 31st December for researchers due to submit their theses by 30th June 2020.
Though the Ministry of Home Affairs had agreed to call researchers back on campus in late September, several universities have not yet done so. Research scholars and teachers have been demanding extension by 3-6 months considering the continued closure of campuses. The new extension, which comes as a relief, also applies to submitting evidence of publications and presentation in two conferences. However, the tenure of fellowships has not been extended.