Finding mathematics postdoc opportunities in India I am Ph.D. advisor to X, a rising 5th-year Ph.D. student in pure mathematics at a mid-tier US research university. X and I are trying to prepare for his upcoming job search.

In my opinion X is promising, talented, and hard-working, and he has not quite realized his potential yet. If he were to go on the US postdoctoral job market this year, I would estimate his chances to be low. Staying for a sixth year is a theoretical possibility, but my department is faced with budget cuts and X would probably have to finance his own studies.

It occurs to me that he might apply for postdocs (and, eventually, tenure-track positions) in his native India. He would really like to pursue a research career, and would likely be willing to accept compromises such as a low salary (by US standards).

An internet search reveals particular institutes to which one can apply, as well as postdoctoral fellowships -- but I was unable to find any general overview of the Indian job market geared towards applicants overseas.

Is there an approach to finding a mathematics job in India, better than googling and applying for individual opportunities? And is it any easier to find a job there than it is in the US (for an Indian citizen who has studied in the US)?
First of all, I am not an Indian, please take my words as a grain of salts. I'll provide what I know.

University Grants Commission (UGC)


  is a statutory body set up by the Indian Union government in accordance to the UGC Act 1956[1] under Ministry of Human Resource Development, and is charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of higher education.


As far as I know, they are in charge of almost all of the high level education matters in India.

I did find one of their web pages Scholarships and Fellowships which lists many scholarships and fellowships in India, including UGC scheme for post-doctoral Fellowships (pdfs) (To be named D. S. Kothari Fellowships), POST DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP TO WOMEN CANDIDATES (I don't know if your student is a woman or not), etc.

Hope this helps.