In 1970, the Scholarship was awarded to Dr. Vinod Kumar Chopra (Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur) for Low Temperature Physics works with Dr. Kurt Mendelssohn, at the Clarendon Laboratory of Oxford University.
The Chairperson of the Scholarship from India was then-Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi, who personally interviewed the candidate after selection by the Education Ministry appointed Experts Committee headed by the UK Dy.
The Scholarship was most prestigious[citation needed] and the scholars were honored by presenting them to the Queen at the Garden Party at the Buckingham Palace.
The fellowship is not confined to any particular stream of studies and is awarded for research in the field of the natural sciences as well as in the humanities.
[3] The Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows are chosen by a selection committee consisting of persons in different fields.