Yes, this fellowship is for queer-identifying individuals. You do not have to be out to your family, friends or at any institution with which you are associated. However, your participation in this fellowship is something that will be public and shared widely, including on social media, and this is something you should be comfortable with.

Nothing. It is free to apply for the Fellowship. If you are selected, the organisation will bear your participation costs, including for travel and accommodation to cohort meetings.

The fellowship will run across 12 months from August 2026 to July 2027. A total of 13 days will be spent on residential components (one week residential training in Mumbai in September 2026, a three-day retreat in New Delhi in March 2027, and a three-day closing session in Mumbai in June 2027). Other gatherings throughout the year will take place online. All gatherings are mandatory to attend.

We expect fellows to:

• Maintain 100% attendance for all in-person and online sessions.

• Respect the curriculum, resource persons, and organising team by being present, participative, and adhering to schedules and deadlines.

• Work closely with assigned mentors throughout the fellowship.

• Communicate feedback, grievances, or requests for support consistently with the organising team.

• Be transparent and proactive in addressing any issues that affect participation or collaboration.

• Treat every member of the team with respect, empathy, and kindness.

• Refrain from any behaviour that compromises the safety or well-being of themselves, another fellow, or team member.

• Avoid any conduct that is rude, disrespectful, or discriminatory, on any grounds.

• Demonstrate willingness to engage with media, share their journey publicly, and actively contribute to Godrej’s broader advocacy efforts.

Post the completion of the fellowship, we expect fellows to:

• Continue developing and implementing their fellowship projects with ongoing mentorship and support from the Godrej DEI Lab and Godrej Foundation.

• Maintain active engagement with peers and mentors, supporting one another’s continued growth and work.

• Mentor younger peers from the community as well as allies on queer work.

• Engage with opportunities through our extended network – including collaborations, events, and initiatives hosted by partners and allies.

• Access professional and creative opportunities through partner organisations to further their work on inclusion and queer leadership.

• Participate in alumni initiatives, knowledge exchanges, and future events organised by the DEI Lab and Godrej Foundation.

• Uphold the fellowship’s values of empathy, respect, and care in their personal and professional spaces.

• Contribute to the growing community of DEI changemakers by sharing their learning, research, and experiences.

Absolutely. You are welcome to apply for the fellowship while continuing your job or full-time studies. As long as you can commit to completing the hours per week for fellowship work and attend 13 days of residential training (spread across three sessions), you can successfully participate in the fellowship alongside your existing commitments. Before your acceptance into the fellowship, it’ll be good if we could receive your organisation’s or educational institution’s letter of affiliation for your participation.

You are welcome to apply. Please note that the primary medium of the fellowship will be English, so a working proficiency is helpful. However, we are committed to ensuring that language does not become a barrier. We will offer translation support wherever possible and strongly encourage queer folks from different regions and language backgrounds to apply.

Attendance at cohort gatherings and online sessions, along with completion of the fellowship project, are essential requirements of the programme. Inability to meet these commitments will lead to termination of the fellowship.

The first cohort will have 7-10 fellows, representative of several diverse queer communities. Fellows can be from any part of India, and from any discipline. We encourage applicants from historically marginalised communities to apply as well.

As a Queer India Fellow, you will grow as a leader and changemaker within your field, while learning alongside and from a diverse cohort of peers with unique skills. Your project work along with your cohort’s work will be shared with leaders at Godrej, the LGBTQIA+ community, and the public at large. Fellows will also gain access to the wider Godrej network, creating opportunities to continue their impact journey, whether through collaborations with Godrej, engagement with fellowship partners, or ongoing mentorship, and support from mentors and resource persons connected to the programme.

Each fellow will be paid a total of Rs. 1,20,000/- for the entire duration of the fellowship across monthly installments of Rs. 10,000/- each, on completion of specific tasks of the fellowship.

The stipend serves as a fee for your participation in the fellowship and may be used towards development of your fellowship project. All other expenses related to the fellowship will be borne by Godrej Foundation.

A good application will include a detailed explanation of what leadership means to you and how you envision yourself as a future leader who can work with and for the queer community. It is essential that your application includes a proposal that clearly defines a challenge that the queer community is facing today; a project that works towards solving this challenge; and key steps and timeline for the implementation of your project. Feel free to use any medium to communicate your passion with us, such as text, images, and audio-visual media, among others.

As a Queer India Fellow, you will be learning across four major pillars: Queerness in Context, Transformative Leadership, Impact Journey, and Community Bonding.

Yes, as long as your theme is connected to the progress of the LGBTQIA+ community in India.

The first one-week residential component in Mumbai (September 2026) will be a rigorous training session, serving as an introduction to the fellowship and its four pillars. It’ll also be a crucial time for fellows to learn from their peers and bond with each other as they continue their fellowship journey together.

The mid-fellowship retreat (March 2027) will serve as a checkpoint for the fellows to present their work halfway through the course of the fellowship, share insights and updates, and also engage in critical feedback sessions. The retreat will also be a space to spend some time informally for peer learning.

At the closing session in Mumbai, the fellows will present their work to the leadership at Godrej One, the LGBTQIA+ community in Mumbai, and the public at large as part of our Pride celebrations in 2027. This will be supplemented by a felicitation ceremony where the fellows will be recognised for their work and provided with a certificate.

The online sessions will be on weekend mornings/evenings on a mutually agreeable time schedule on an online video conferencing platform.

Fellows will submit a project proposal as part of their application for the fellowship. Upon selection, fellows will be required to make a presentation during the initial one week residential component of the fellowship. Based on this, you will be assigned mentors (experts) from Godrej Industries who will be working with them throughout the course of 12 months to help them shape their project.

Yes, it’s mandatory to have some leadership experience, as this fellowship is for mid-career professionals who seek to hone their skills, expand their network, and take on a wider leadership role within the queer community.