( Submitted version of the article published in Science Chronicle on 21.07.2025. To read Five months on, CSIR yet to keep its promise on increasing recruitment age limit )
One of the longstanding concerns among research scholars in India is the restrictive upper age limit set by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Currently, the age cap for the Scientist C position is fixed at 32 years for candidates holding a doctoral degree (PhD). This criterion appears particularly stringent when compared to the norms followed by other scientific institutions in India. For instance, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) also sets 32 as the maximum age for scientist recruitment, but their minimum qualification is a master’s degree.1 A candidate following the conventional academic path (10+2+3+2) can complete a master’s degree by the age of 22 or 23, giving them nearly a decade of eligibility. In contrast, a PhD scholar completing a five-year doctoral program (10+2+3+2+5) is already around 28 by the time they qualify, leaving only a narrow four-year window to apply for scientist positions in CSIR.
This
disparity is further widened by real-world challenges such as career breaks,
health issues, family responsibilities, or systemic delays in research
timelines. And for women, transgenders, and scholars from disadvantaged
backgrounds, the impact further intensifies. The current policy inadvertently
penalizes those who choose to pursue in-depth research, often at the cost of a
delayed entry into the workforce. Raising the age bar, even by a few years,
would not only align CSIR with global best practices but also acknowledge the
realities of academic life in India.
Fellowships
and Reality
The
issue becomes clearer when we examine the age limits set by fellowships for
starting a PhD. UGC and CSIR conduct a joint national eligibility test for
awarding junior research fellowship, typically capping the age at 30. The
qualification certificate remains valid for two years, effectively allowing
registration for a PhD up to the age of 32. For candidates from reserved
categories, transgender persons, and women, the upper limit further extends up
to 35 years, making it possible to begin a PhD at 37 with a valid fellowship.
Similarly, CSIR’s Direct Senior Research Fellowship allows entry up to the age
of 32, with up to five years of relaxation.2 A typical PhD program lasts five years,
but this timeframe has proven insufficient due to lots of structural and
situational challenges. Delays in thesis submission are common across
institutions, driven by a range of factors, from inadequate laboratory
infrastructure and inconclusive research results to pandemic-related
disruptions and institutional bottlenecks. These delays are often compounded by
gender-based, socioeconomic, and disability-related hurdles. As a result,
completing a PhD takes longer than planned for most scholars. Ironically, the
same system that supported their research journey now disqualifies them from
applying for positions simply because they have crossed a rigid age threshold.
This disconnect underscores the urgent need for a more flexible and realistic
approach to age-based eligibility for scientist recruitment.
A
Disproportionate Impact on Women
Rigid
age limits in recruitment also disproportionately affect women scientists. As
the 2023 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, Claudia Goldin has shown,
marriage and childbirth often delay women’s career progression and contribute
to long-term disparities in the workforce.3 In Indian academia, this reality is
starkly visible. Until recently, there were no comprehensive official records
on the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Independent research by Dr. Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan and Shruti Muralidhar of
BiasWatchIndia highlighted this gap. Their study, conducted between June 2020 to
December 2021, found that just 16.6% of faculty in 100 Indian universities were
women. In top-ranked institutions (as per NIRF 2022), the number drops further
to just 10%. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, women accounted
for just 13.9% of science researchers in India in 2015, a figure that has
barely improved, reaching only 16.6% by 2023. While the government continues to
encourage women to pursue careers in STEM, age-based cutoffs often act as
hidden barriers.4
For example, though 37% of PhD students in India are women, only about 10.5%
eventually make it to faculty positions.5 Such skewed representation not only
discourages aspiring women scientists but also hampers the emergence of
first-generation scholars, who often lack institutional support and mentorship.
Unless age-based eligibility criteria are revised with a gender-sensitive lens,
including transgender scholars, these inequities will persist.
Time
to Lift the Age Barrier
Interestingly,
CSIR's recruitment history reveals a more inclusive approach in the past. In
2001, the upper age limit for entry-level scientist recruitment was fixed at
35, according to the CSIR Scientist Recruitment and Assessment Promotion Rules.
But in 2011, this was lowered to 32, with the stated goal of “identifying men
and women of exceptional talent” and attracting “committed younger
professionals with substantially higher qualifications.”6 However, in
practice, this age cap excludes precisely the kind of highly qualified
individuals the policy aims to attract—those who have spent years earning a PhD
and gaining national or international postdoctoral experience. The disconnect
between intention and outcome has gone unnoticed.
In
early 2024, the All India Research Scholars Association7,8 launched a
renewed campaign on social media, demanding an increase in the age limit.
Responding to growing pressure, CSIR announced on March 3, 2025, that a
committee had been formed to examine the issue and assess the feasibility of
amending recruitment guidelines.9 Despite this acknowledgment, no updates have followed,
and several CSIR laboratories that initiated recruitment in the first half of
2025 have yet to revise the age criteria.10 This silence is especially disheartening
for candidates affected by the cancellation of earlier recruitment
advertisements during the pandemic.
The
symbolic value of CSIR leadership sounds more relevant here. When Dr. N.
Kalaiselvi became the first woman to head CSIR in 2022, her story—rising from
modest beginnings, studying in government schools and college, earning a PhD
from a state university—captured the imagination of aspiring scientists across
the country.11
Her ascent was rightly celebrated as a breakthrough moment, particularly for
women in STEM. But her journey also highlights how many hurdles still remain.
If we are to honour that spirit of inclusion, structural barriers such as rigid
age limits must be reformed. Raising the age threshold, at least to 40, would
be a meaningful step towards welcoming a wider, more diverse, and truly
meritorious group of scientists into CSIR and other research institutions. More
importantly, it would send a message that time invested in research is valued,
not punished.
Dr.
Vijayakumar Samiyappan is 32 years old and just received his PhD degree from
CSIR - National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology,
Thiruvananthapuram.
References:
1. DRDO notification 2025: https://rac.gov.in/download/advt_156_v3.pdf
2. CSIR-UGC NET notification 2025: https://csirnet.nta.ac.in/images/infomration-bulletin-of-csir-june-2025.pdf
3. Brief note on Nobel Laureate Claudia Goldin https://x.com/NobelPrize/status/1766060726949429386
4. Independent research by Dr. Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan and Shruti Muralidhar https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.26.564078v1
5. How Can We Improve the Prospects of India’s Women in STEM? by Dr. Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan and Shruti Muralidhar https://science.thewire.in/politics/government/policy-memo-how-can-we-improve-the-prospects-of-indias-women-in-stem/
6. AIRSA urges CSIR to raise age limit for scientist positions to 40 https://www.thehindu.com/education/airsa-urges-csir-to-raise-scientist-positions-age-limit-to-40-for-fairer-opportunities/article69333125.ece
7. X page of AIRSA revealing a series of tweets on age restriction by CSIR https://x.com/AIRSAIndia
8. LinkedIn page of AIRSA revealing a series of posts on age restriction by CSIR https://www.linkedin.com/in/airsa-india-75b525212/
9. Response by CSIR on age restriction by CSIR https://x.com/CSIR_IND/status/1886448760089157936
10. Recruitment portal of CSIR showing published recruitment drives with 32 as age limit https://rab.csir.res.in/recruitments.php
11. Dr. (Mrs.) N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR https://www.bric.nic.in/jet-popup/dr-mrs-n-kalaiselvi/