Compendium On Scholarships Fellowships Freeships And Educational Loans For Study In India And Abroad

Scholarships fellowships, etc. have a special place in the educational system of any country. In India they have been an integral part of the education policy and administration ever since independence. While promoting excellence in the pursuit of knowledge, they also provide opportunities to the needy but deserving students. However, many of the students, particularly those from far-flung areas, aide not aware of the various sources of information about them or face difficulties in receiving information in right time.

This Compendium brings together for the first time in India, information on various scholarships fellowships educational loans etc. administered by various ministries, departments agencies of Government of India, private sources exchange programme instituted by foreign and financial institutions. This book would be of immense use to students and other scholars, educational institutions all over the country.

This Compendium has been compiled by EdCIL (Educational consultants India Ltd.) a Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. EdC1L offers consultancy and technical services in all areas of Education and Human Resource Development on a global basis.

We are happy that the HRD Ministry has been able to compile a Compendium on Scholarships, Freeships and Fellowships for study in India offered by the Government, private and other agencies. I am sure this will help the students and scholars to utilize the opportunities available to them. This will also make the process on selection more competitive and transparent. We have already put the compendium on the website at www.educationsupport.nic.in

We will be happy to update the compendium from time to time. I am sure the National Book Trust, India will be able to bring out an annual edition with up-to-date information every year.

I appreciate the effort put in by the Scholarship Division in the Ministry, the Educational Consultants India Limited and the National Book Trust, India for this combined effort.

Scholarships, fellowships and other kinds of financial assistance or incentives aim at promoting excellence in the pursuit of knowledge through advanced studies or research in various branches/disciplines of (general, technical, professional and vocational) education. They encourage the students to seek and explore new vistas of knowledge, develop expertise in their areas through specialized education and/or training, develop their professional competence, better their career prospects, etc..

Scholarships, fellowships etc.. provide opportunities to the meritorious/deserving students for developing their potential or to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the subject/discipline which they are interested. When granted, scholarships become the source of recognition of the merit or achievements of the grantees and heighten their social esteem. In addition, they may spur students to achieve excellence in the areas of their pursuit. To the needy, but otherwise deserving they help in a significant way in overcoming the consequences of lack of financial resources, apart from providing other tangible and intangible benefits.

Objectives of Scholarships/Fellowships/Awards
To be more specific, scholarships and other related awards are meant to accomplish a variety of purposes:

a. Scholarships/fellowships, etc. stimulate the pursuit of excellence in whatever branch of knowledge the seeker may be engaged.
b. Scholarships encourage a spirit of healthy competition among the prospects/student community for higher attainments or excelling in their fields.
c. Scholarships and other awards are viewed by society as recognition of merit of the awardees and thus enhance their social esteem. This in turn engenders in them a sense of fulfillment/achievement.
d. Scholarships and awards are highly valued by the recipients as vehicles for achieving their career, professional or scholarly goals.
e. They motivate the candidates to develop their expertise or skills in their areas of specialization through dedicated advanced research or specialized training.
f. Scholarships and awards under the international exchange programmes enable exchange of views and provide opportunities for cross-fertilization of ideas and for expanding the horizons or research for mutual benefit. Besides, they can be helpful in developing cooperation and better understanding among the participant countries.
g. Specially instituted scholarships help in promoting education and research in the new! emerging/priority areas/disciplines considered vital for sustained economic and social growth. They thus enable in meeting the new global challenges/realities by filling the gaps. They can become torchbearers for giving a new focus or direction to educational and research efforts in the county.

Scholarships, fellowships, etc.. have a special place in the educational system of any country. In India, they have been an integral part of the education policy and administration ever since the country gained independence. With greater recognition of the contribution of education in social and economic development, the numbers of scholarships and the organizations granting such scholarships in the country, whether in the public or the private domains have proliferated over time. The role of scholarships, etc.. is likely to get further impetus with greater accent being placed on the need for dia to emerge as a knowledge superpower. It is being felt necessary to channel the energies of the nation in relation to research and advanced studies in new directions, in view of the emerging global realities.

The Need for and Objective of Compendium
For a long time it has been felt that students are either not aware of the various sources of information about various scholarships, etc.. or face difficulties in accessing information in right time. Procuring all necessary information proves to be quite a daunting task for them. They may have to either wander around several places to gather the required information or look into several sources. Thu considerable energies and a good deal of time have to be spent on such efforts. Just because some candidate(s) happen to miss or are not able to access the required information in time may deprive them of the opportunities for improving their career prospects, which would have otherwise unfolded for them. Thus, the need for compiling all necessary information about scholarships, etc.. in one source or compendium, which could serve as the Ready-Reference, cannot be overemphasized. La fact, the preparation of such a facilitating mechanism has been felt as an imperative need for a long time. It has indeed been long overdue.

The objective of the present endeavour of preparing a compendium on Scholarships, etc.. a project sponsored by the MHRD, is to provide the much needed avenue to the students to access all that they need or want to know (i.e., all necessary particulars/details) about scholarships and the granting/sponsoring/administering organizations, etc.. as one stop source of information about t1 scholarships, fellowships etc.. Thus, the Compendium will serve as single window with all relevant information about scholarships, etc.. to those who are interested in and hence seek such information. As they will have all the necessary information available in a single source, they will be in position t choose and make an evaluation or comparative assessment of the various scholarships available the areas/fields of study in which they may be interested before arriving at any definitive decision. This will help them in deciding or selecting a particular scholarship(s) that would suit them better than the others, from the point of view of their particular requirements or background, etc..

The Compendium, thus, will prove to be of immense benefit to the student community. granting/disbursing organization, both in the public and private sectors. While the benefits to like student community are too apparent to be mentioned, the organizations administering or granting scholarships will find the Compendium a useful and efficient vehicle for disseminating information to the prospects.

The Compendium provides information about scholarships, etc.. in a user-friendly manner! style/format and the information can be easily accessed. The information on scholarships, etc.. has Seen compiled, collated and presented in a brief, direct and to-the-point manner, without sacrificing the relevant particulars that need to be given.

The information for the Compendium has been collected from the various sources, viz., concerned websites, published sources, and directly from the organizations. Wherever felt necessary, and in the interest of authenticity, the information was verified and updated from the direct sources.

The ‘Content pages’ of the Compendium list, in alphabetical order, all the organizations offering scholarships, fellowships and other awards, with the titles of their various schemes. While most cases the organizations instituting the scholarship, fellowship or other award and the organization administering are the same, it may not necessarily be so in all cases. The test that has been applied for inclusion of the name of an organization is whether it administers the scholarship, or not. The question asked is: is it an administering organization or has it the responsibility of administering the scheme of scholarship, etc.? The name of the organization is listed if the scholarships awards offered are being administered by it, no matter who or which organization has instituted the scholarship/award, etc.. (that is, it takes all the necessary steps needed to make the scholarships available to the candidates: the organization invites applications, does the needed screening or arranges e selection process, shortlists the candidates, makes final selection, grants/disburses scholarship r award money, etc.).

This information about the offering organizations and their schemes of scholarships, etc. has been arranged! compiled in four sections as follows:

Section I deals with scholarships, fellowships, and other awards offered by the Government sources i.e., Ministries, Departments, institutions or agencies of the Central Government.

Section II lists scholarships, fellowships and other awards offered by Private sources, i.e., organizations, institutions, trusts or other agencies in the private or non-governmental sector and includes NGOs. If the organization is the administering agency for the scholarship/award, in terms of what has already been mentioned, its name has been listed in this category, irrespective of who or which organization/group of individuals/trust or agency has instituted or established the scholarship/award.

Section III delves on scholarships, fellowships and other awards offered under the various Exchange Programmes, which have been instituted by foreign countries/Governments, but are being offered and administered by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. In other words, all such scholarships/awards, though established or instituted by the foreign Governments. have been/are being routed through the MHRD.

Section IV deals with educational loans offered by the Banks in India. The names of the Banks offering such facilities have been listed but the details of the educational loans have not been given, as all such banks are subject to the Framework/Guidelines formulated by the Government of India/Reserve Bank of India in this respect. Instead, therefore, the particulars of the Guidelines have been provided.

It is for the first time in India that a Compendium of this nature and size has been attempted. Though the necessary steps have been taken to check the veracity of the information contained in the Compendium, it is quite possible that some discrepancies/inaccuracies might have either crept into the text inadvertently or have remained unattended due to the dynamic nature of the information. When in doubt, the students and others intending to use the information are therefore advised to check the information contained in the Compendium for any changed or updating from the relevant sources indicated at appropriate places.

It is our earnest hope that the compendium will go a long way in meeting the long felt need of the Indian society in general and the student community in particular, and, thus, will fill up the void that has existed all these years.