Agricultural Economics Research Association (India)

• Agricultural Economics Research Association (AERA) (India) has instituted the fellowship to recognize the meritorious and distinguished agricultural economists.
• The primary objective of this Fellowship is to recognize the outstanding contribution of agricultural economists demonstrated through their contributions to agricultural economics research, education and policy studies.
• The Fellowship Award will consist of a citation, highlighting the achievements of the incumbent Fellow.
• There shall be one Fellowship for each calendar year. However, the President of AERA, at his discretion, may not declare the Fellowship in some years.
• The Past Presidents/Conference Presidents of AERA would automatically be the AERA Fellows.
• Eligibility: The following will be eligible for the Award:

• He/she should be a citizen or national of India.
• He/she should be above the age of 50 years on 1st January of the year of Award.
• He/she should be a life member of AERA for at least five years prior to 1st January of the Year of Fellowship.
• He/she should hold a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics (including dairy economics, fisheries economics and veterinary economics or in Economics, followed by a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics or Economics with specialization in Agriculture) from any Indian university incorporated by an Act of Parliament or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed university by UGC or from a foreign university recognized as equivalent to above by the Government of India.
• He/she should have worked or served in India for at least three years as on 1st January of the year of Award in the field of agriculture (policy analysis, research, teaching, extension etc.).

• Nominations for Award There shall be no direct application for the Fellowship.

• Each year, the nominations, in the prescribed format, will be invited, through a notification on the AERA website (www.aeraindia.in) or other methods deemed fit, usually during the month of January of the year of Award. For example, for 2022 Fellowship, the notification will be issued in the month of January 2022. It could be even a month or two earlier/later, depending on the compulsions that may arise.
• The last date for receipt of nominations in PDF is 30 June, 2025. The nomination should be duly signed by the nominator/proposer as well as by the nominee at all the places provided in the format. Having signed by both, it could be submitted (by either the candidate or nominator/proposer) addressed to the Secretary, AERA. The soft copy of the following should be attached with the Nomination Form: (i) documents as proof of each eligibility criterion; (ii) reprints of 20 best research papers (listed in B-2) and other publications (listed in B-5); (iii) copies of books (listed in B-3) and Research Reports (listed in B-4); and (iv) documentary proof of past Awards, Honours and Recognitions (listed in B-6&7).
• The authorized nominator/proposer for this purpose could be (i) Past President of AERA/Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE); or (ii) Past Conference President of AERA/ISAE; (iii) The nominators can send maximum two nominations in a year.

• Selection/Evaluation Criteria and Procedure

• The criteria for selection will be academic excellence based on scientific contributions as reflected by publications, outputs, outcomes, processes and impact in the areas of agricultural economics research, teaching, policy analysis, innovations and extension education.
• For each year, a selection committee, consisting of the following, will evaluate the nominations and recommend one or two names (in order of merit) to the President of AERA: (i) One of the past Presidents or conference Presidents of AERA (chair); and (ii) two life members of AERA to be nominated by the President.
• The decision of the President (AERA), based on the recommendations of the above committee, shall be final.
• The allocation of marks for different criteria will be as follows:
  

  Criterion	MaximumMarks
  Publications	60
  Awards, Honours and Recognitions	20
  Professional Leadership	15
  Others including Education and Extension	5

• The break-up of 60 marks for publications will be as follows:

• 20 Best Published Papers: Maximum 40 marks. Papers published in Agricultural Economics Research Review (AERR), Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics (IJAE) and Economic and Political Weekly shall receive 2.0 marks and that in other journals shall receive proportionately more or less marks as per the latest NAAS score of the Journal. In case of multiple authors of the paper, the first author will get full marks and subsequent authors will get three-fourth (75%) of the marks.
• Books and/or Research Reports: Maximum 10 marks. Each original book may score a maximum of 5 marks. Each edited book will get a maximum of 2 marks. The first author will get full marks and subsequent authors will get three-fourth of marks.

• Other Published Papers, Working papers and Discussion papers: Maximum 10 marks. Each published paper (other than 20 best), discussion/working paper may get 1 mark. The first author will get full marks and subsequent authors will get three-fourth of the marks. Awards, Honours and Recognitions: Maximum 20 marks. International and national awards of high repute will get 4 marks each and fellowship of national academies will also get 4 marks. Awards by national institutes will fetch 2 marks. Young Scientist award or associates will also fetch 2 marks each. ‘Recognitions’ will include national level recognitions by professional societies/ associations and may include fellowships, lifetime achievement award, President, Chief Editor or Secretary level positions which shall carry one mark each.
• Professional Leadership: Maximum 15 marks. Other than those mentioned in (f) above, it may include the leadership positions like Head of the Department, Dean/Director, Vice Chancellor, PI, Co-PI of Research Projects, Group Leader, Keynote Speaker, Session Chair at National or International level, Major Advisor/Guide for Ph.D. students etc.
• The name of the recipient of Fellowship Award shall be normally declared in the month of July/August. The selected person shall be informed, and the Fellowship shall be conferred during the ensuing annual conference of AERA.

Note: The objective of laying down these guidelines is to impart objectivity and transparency in selection of AERA Fellows. As we gain experience, a comprehensive review of these can be undertaken from time to time to further improve these.