List of some of the best and the most rigorous fellowship programmes available for the youth in India.

Young India Fellowship

The Young India Fellowship (YIF) is a one-year multidisciplinary post-graduate program which brings together 100 young girls and boys from around the country. It is meant to expand the students’ horizon by discovering and nurturing their leadership potential. Teachers and alumni from across the world are invited to give lectures and teach a set of diverse subjects. Students, with a recognised undergraduate or postgraduate degree in any discipline and maximum 28 years of age on 31st May 2018 may apply to the program

Teach for India Fellowship

Be the change you wish to see.
TFI fellows live by this rule. Teach For India is a part of ‘Teach for All’ global network. The program is a 2 year full-time for most promising graduates and professionals to work as full-time teachers backwards or under-resourced schools. They work as full-time staff members of the schools in which they are placed and will work stipulated school hours six days a week as well as attending training and support sessions as per city requirements. This program is ideal for students who aim to contribute to the society via educating the lowest rungs of the society.
The Teach for India Fellowship is a highly selective and coveted program, with an average selectivity rate of 7% over the past 7 years. Teach for India Fellows will be paid a salary of Rs 17,500 per month. If required to relocate from their home city, Fellows will be given a housing allowance ranging from Rs.5500 to 10,000, depending on the city in which they will stay. In addition, Fellows will receive an allowance for school supplies.

Gandhi Fellowship

The Fellowship is an intensive 2-year rural residential program that helps talented young people develop the leadership skills necessary for positive change in society. The Fellowship challenges these young people to support primary school headmasters to transform their schools. In the process, Fellows discover what they want to do with their own lives and how to go about converting their ideas into reality. During the 2 years of the Fellowship, the fellows will be assigned 5 schools each. The fellows must bring about a significant transformation in these schools.
The fellows are entitled to an all-inclusive monthly grant of Rs. 14,000, a fixed monthly phone allowance of Rs. 600 and rent-free accommodation medical insurance and other allowances as applicable.
The New Millionaire Program: This program supports aspiring Social Entrepreneurs through special idea incubation, business mentor-ship and start-up funding support up to Rs 20 lakh after fellowship graduation.

Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship

The LAMP fellowship provides bright young Indian citizens to have a high-impact engagement with the policy-making process at a national level by placing one legislative assistant to work with one Member of Parliament. The LAMP Fellows are engaged full-time for eleven months to work with the assigned MP from the beginning of the monsoon session to the end of the budget session of Parliament. Throughout the eleven months, the LAMP Fellow works closely with the MP, providing extensive research support for his/her parliamentary work.
The Fellows will be based in Delhi during the Fellowship Period. LAMP Fellows will also engage with policymakers and experts from diverse sectors through participation in workshops on important policy and development issues.

Azim Premji Foundation Fellowship Program

The Fellowship is an opportunity for you to explore various dimensions of education, and to discover if this is your calling. It is a 2-year full-time program, where a fellow will get to understand and experience the realities of rural Government schools. The fellowship involves-
The candidates must undergo 5 weeks classroom module to strengthen conceptual understanding of education and development issues. 22 months of intense field engagement at the grassroots level in the district institutes of the foundation. They also work on a live project that has a significant purpose of improving quality at the practice level.
A consolidated monthly stipend of Rs. 30,000 (inclusive of all benefits) would be paid to each Fellow during the 2 year program.
As for eligibility:
• A minimum of 3 to 10 years of work experience
• A regular post-graduate degree or a professional degree (B.Tech/MBA/or Equivalent) in any discipline
• Proficiency in local languages (Hindi, Kannada, Tamil or Telugu)

The Youth for India Fellowship Program, SBI

Focused on rural development, the SBI Youth for India fellows work on diverse projects in 12 broad thematic program area. The 13-month long programs require the fellows to stay in the rural areas near the project site. The training will be provided to the fellows in different fields.
• Stipend: Rs 15,000/- to meet living expenses
• Local Transport Allowance: Rs 1,000/- per month
• A Readjustment Allowance of Rs. 30,000/- upon successful completion of the Fellowship
• To and fro travel costs of the Fellows from his/her place of residence to project location as well as for training programmes
• Medical Insurance
• Mentorship by experienced professionals in the field
• Access to the Community through well-established Partner NGOs

William J Clinton Fellowship

The Fellowship pairs a select number of highly skilled young professionals with leading NGOs and social enterprises in India in order to accelerate impact and create effective projects that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable. Through ten months of service and fieldwork, Fellows gain knowledge of development on the ground in the fields of education, livelihoods, public health, and social enterprise, honing and harnessing their growing skills as change agents capable of effecting lasting change. Together, fellows and development sector leaders form dynamic partnerships, to exchange knowledge and skills while sharing their passion and commitment to open new ways of looking at the world — ultimately transforming both the individual and organization.
Applicants must be between 21 and 34 years of age; he or she must be a U.S. or Indian citizen, or a U.S. permanent resident. Applicants must have their Bachelor’s or undergraduate degree before the start of the Fellowship

Prime Minister’s Rural Fellowship

PMRD Fellowship is an initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) where the focus is to reduce poverty and improve the lives of people in rural India. During the two-year duration of the Fellowship, PMRD Fellows will work closely with District Magistrates of backward and remote districts in improving programme delivery and interface with marginalized sections, aiming to reduce the developmental and governance deficits. Fellows will also participate in a post-graduate degree programme through e-enabled distance learning and contact sessions leading to M.Sc/M.Phil in Development Practice, to be conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). Immediately after successful completion of the two-year fellowship, a PMRD Fellow is required to spend one year in public service as a paid full-time employee of the State Rural Livelihood Mission in the state she/he is assigned to.
Candidates must be between 22 and 27 years. The selected fellows get a stipend of ₹50,000 per month during the orientation period, ₹75,000 per month during the first year and a 10% increment in the second year and third year. Along with remuneration, they also get other official and transport facilities, travel reimbursements for official work and leave for a specified amount of time if cited certain reasons.