An autonomous organisation, JBNSTS encourages young scientists through its yearly scholarship programme. The organisation does not have a steady source of money for scholarships. The bulk of the money comes from private sponsors and donations. The state government’s education department sponsors two of its 25 scholarships.

Under this programme, scholarships worth Rs 500 are awarded per month and an annual Rs 1,000 as a book grant until the winners finish their MSc or BE or MBBS.

Moreover, the organisation is facing a lack of awareness about its initiatives and there are very few takers for the scholarship. “There is a lack of interest among educational institutions. Many students don’t turn up for the examination. In spite of our best efforts of visiting the colleges, there has not been much response,” said JBNSTS’s director Prof Papiya Nandy.

Interestingly, the number of students writing the scholarship exam has remained the same since inception: 379 students wrote the test this year. “I wrote the test in the first batch, in 1958. I remember the same number of students writing the test in 1960,” said Nandy.