India Document Centre
Research Proposal
Required or strongly recommended for doctoral and research programme applicants.
Where to obtain it in India
Written by you, ideally reviewed by a mentor
Processing time
6–10 weeks
Approximate cost
Free
Costs are indicative Indian market estimates and vary by state, institution and urgency.
Common mistakes
- Topic not matched to any faculty at the chosen university
- No methodology
- No references
Checklist before submission
- Name matches your passport exactly, including initials expanded the same way
- Original plus the number of copies required by your track's checklist
- English translation attached where the original is not in English
- Apostille or attestation completed where the guideline requires it
- Scan is colour, full-page, legible and under the portal's file size limit
- Document is within any validity window stated in the guideline
Sample and template
Formatted templates and annotated samples for this document are collected in the download centre, alongside the official NIIED forms.
Open the download centreOfficial InformationExpert Advice
- Official source:
- NIIED GKS guideline document checklist; issuing authority procedures in India
- Applicable cycle:
- GKS 2027 cycle
- Last updated:
- 2026-07-27
- Version:
- v1.0 — revision history maintained per guideline release