India announces scholarships for NRI students in Saudi Arabia

India has announced a scholarship programme of as many as 100 grants for students of Indian origin in Saudi Arabia who are willing to pursue under graduate courses in several disciplines in their home country. The Indian Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has announced the details of a scholarship scheme offering 100 scholarships to assists children of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in pursuing under graduate courses in several disciplines ranging from science, economics, law, architecture, humanities, media studies, management, hospitality, and Agriculture/ animal husbandry.

The scheme "Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children" (SPDC) was launched by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in 2006-07. The eligibility of candidates applying for the scholarship would be judged on the basis of their performance in an qualifying examination (equivalent to plus 2 stage in India). The programme is open only to PIOs/NRIs from the specified 40 countries, including Saudi Arabia, having a larger concentration of Indian Diaspora.

The amount of scholarship admissible would be 75 per cent of the total Institutional Economic Cost (IEC) or $ 4,000 per annum, whichever is less. IEC includes tuition fee, hostel fee and other institutional charges. According to a Consulate statement, NRI candidates would be eligible for the grant of the scholarship only if their total family income per month does not exceed an amount equivalent to $ 2,250.

"Children of NRIs should have pursued at least three years of education, inclusive of 11th and 12th or equivalent (not beyond), in a foreign country during the last six years, and should have passed the qualifying examination abroad. The last date for receipt of duly filled-in application forms in the prescribed format by Ed.CIL is 18th June," it said. Ed.CIL (Educational Consultants India Limited), established in 1981, is a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

Source: The Economic Times (Online Edition), June 12, 2012