External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj recently launched the Admissions to Alumni (A2A) ICCR Scholarship Portal (http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in) at Mutthamma Hall, ministry of external affairs (MEA), New Delhi.
Educational co-operation is an integral part of the mandate of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which has its own scholarship schemes and also administers a large number of schemes under various bilateral co-operation programmes, the Indian embassy in Doha said in a statement.
There are 17 scholarship schemes that ICCR administers on behalf of various divisions of the MEA and the ministry of ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy.
These are important schemes such as Special Scholarship for Afghan Nationals, Africa Scholarship Scheme, Mekong-Ganga Co-operation Scholarship Scheme and Border Guard Bangladesh Scholarship Scheme, etc.
The A2A portal inaugurated by the minister is an initiative taken by ICCR in co-ordination with the e-governance and IT division of MEA to move from paper-based admissions to an online scholarship portal.
With the A2A portal, the systemic needs of implementation structure — from the stage of admissions till the student completes his/her course and leaves the country, including matters related to financial and academic monitoring — of this important programme will be addressed.
The programme is aimed at generating goodwill for India.
ICCR offers scholarships for undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil and PhD levels, covering a wide range of subjects under science, commerce, humanities, engineering and management domains.
There is a “huge demand” for scholarships to study in India, particularly in science and engineering subjects, the statement notes.
In addition to conventional subjects, ICCR offers scholarships for performing arts under the Guru-Shishya Parampara.
The programme attracts foreign students from all parts of the world.
Students from around the globe come to study Indian classical music and dance in prestigious institutes such as Kalakshetra, Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra, Kathak Kendra, Gandharvamahavidyalaya and Kerala Kalamandalam, to name a few.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with dignitaries at the launch of the portal.
