ICCR Scholarships 2023-24 under Africa Scholarship Scheme for Academic Year 2023-24 by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India:
The High Commission of India, Accra is pleased to announce ICCR Scholarships for international students for Under-Graduate, Post-Graduate and PhD programs in selected Indian Universities. Applications are invited for academic year 2023-24. The scholarships are available for courses in engineering, science, agriculture, commerce and economics, Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences etc but do not include Medical/ Paramedical (Nursing/ Physiotherapy / anaesthesia etc) /fashion/law courses /integrated courses such as BALLB (5 Years) / BSc & MSc (5 Years) etc.
The scholarships include full tuition fees, a monthly stipend or living allowance, a house rent allowance, a one-time thesis and dissertation expense, and a return economy class air fare to the nearest airport and 3rd AC train fare to the place of study. Disbursement of all scholarship payment to students would be through PFMS (Public Financial Management System).
Applicants must be (1) minimum 18 years old as on 30 April 2023 and not older than 30 years for under graduate or post graduate courses and 45 years for PhD courses (2) meritorious student (3) well versed in English (4) medically fit and (5) holder of passport valid for the entire duration of the course they are applying for.
How to Apply:
Applicants should register and apply directly for specific courses on the ICCR A2A Scholarship Portal (http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in). Interested students are advised to visit university / institute website and do thorough research of courses offered, eligibility criteria and general information about the university/institute before applying for admission. The students should ensure that they are eligible for the course and meet the eligibility criteria and should submit relevant documentation as required by the Universities in addition to the basic certificates mentioned in the application form. They should always refer to the Universities Handbook/University Grants Commission's website (www.ugc.ac.in) and the concerned university/institute's website for eligibility criteria etc. They are also advised to make themselves familiar with the living conditions at the University/place.
All interested candidates are required to register at this portal with a valid email ID which they will be using during the duration of their academic relationship with ICCR. Thereafter applicants should submit/upload their application with true copies of all relevant documents as required by the A2A portal. They are advised to thoroughly go through the guidelines for students available on the portal. For any technical assistance in the application procedure, the applicant may contact a2asupport.iccr@gov.in. The A2A portal as well as email should be checked regularly for any updates.
Kindly note that there are limited scholarship slots and selection is based on merit. Those who do not receive scholarship from the High Commission of India in Accra but are accepted by an Indian University may consider pursuing their higher education on self-financing basis.
Applicants have the option to apply to 5 Universities/Institutes in the order of their preference of study. It may be noted that for engineering courses, students should mandatorily have Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM) in Grades 11 and 12. Mark sheets for each level (Grade 10 and Grade 12 or equivalent level of school) should be uploaded along with the transcripts in English. The application will not be considered without English translation of documents if the original documents are not in English. It may also be noted that incomplete application can be summarily rejected by Universities.
As the medium of instruction is in English, applicants are required to write and submit a 500- word essay in English at the time of application to ascertain their English Proficiency. Besides, students can also submit their TOFEL/ IELTS etc. standardised test scores, if available. Universities/ institutes may conduct interview of the applicants online, if so required.
Important
Familiarization with India: It is essential for the applicants to have a realistic assessment of India, and of the living conditions in the country's educational institutions. ICCR may amend some provisions of scholarships from time to time and it is incumbent on students to accept the revised norms.
If the concerned educations institute provides hostel accommodation, the scholarship students would be expected to stay in the hostel. If not, they can stay in private accommodation.
Where required by the concerned University, students are advised to obtain equivalence certificate from Association of Indian Universities (AIU) also. This would be stipulated by the concerned University/Institute in their Provisional Confirmation letter for the applicant (uploaded on A2A Portal). In case AIU equivalence is required, the student may apply for the same at the link https://evaluation.aiu.ac.inlstudent/login and bear the fees incurred on obtaining the certificate at own expense (non-reimbursable). For any further details / queries, students may contact AIU at (+911123230059 / 23237097 I 23232305 Extn' 2tO, 234, 252, Email id : studentinfo@aiu.ac.in, ds-international@aiu.ac.in, evaluation@aiu.ac.in
Compulsory personal medical insurance is a mandatory requirement for availing ICCR scholarship. ICCR scholarship student must procure Medical Insurance policy with minimum sum assured for Indian Rupees 500,000 which is equivalent to US$6800 per annum. Students are free to obtain insurance from any insurance company in India of their choice or, those who arrive from their country, can bring international insurance valid in India. It is up to the student what they opt for but it is mandatory for students to be with valid medical insurance for availing of ICCR's scholarship. This is to highlight that the ICCR scholarship will not include medical coverage.
Scholarship awardees may note that for science courses the expenditure on laboratory chemicals and other related incidental charges will be borne by the scholars themselves.
Successful candidates will be provided visa for India, a copy of the visa must be uploaded by the applicant on A2A portal. After issuing the visa, the High Commission of India, Accra will arrange the travel passage. Once the ticket is purchased, the student should upload the travel details on the A2A portal.
Admission, as far as possible, shall be given as per applicant's preference. However, there may be a scenario when students do not get admission in their preferred Universities / institutes due to limited number of seats on offer. Students should therefore be prepared to receive admission from any of their five preferences.
Deadlines
Admission applications from interested students are invited online through ICCR's A2A Scholarship Portal http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in/ as per the following timeline:
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Opened since 12-April-2023:
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Opening of ICCR A2A Portal for admissions.
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30-May-2023:
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Last date of application to be submitted by students (only for Africa Scholarship Scheme).
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15-June-2023:
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Last date of Universities to inform the decision (if confirmed, intimation to Missions if rejected intimation to students
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30-June-2023:
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Last date for allocating scholarship and generating Offer Letters by Indian Mission abroad.
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15-Jul-2023:
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Last date for acceptance by students; while sending their acceptance, the students would have to email scans of the following:
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1. Document duly consularized/attested by their Foreign Office; these inter alia would include: a. educational documents b. birth certificate c. passport d. medical fitness certificate
2. Valid medical insurance policy certificate
3. Association of Indian Universities (AlU) Equivalence Certificate if stipulated by the concerned Indian University/Institute in their Provisional Confirmation letter for the applicant
4. Self-attested affidavit confirming that they have not availed of any ICCR scholarship in the past. {Important: The students would have to show, at the time of visa/ ticketing process, all the above documents in original. Needless to mention, any lacuna at the original document scrutiny stage would render the offer of scholarship cancelled}.
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22-July-2023:
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Based on the number of acceptances in the first round (if acceptances are less than the scholarship seats allocated), Indian Mission to offer vacant scholarship slots to other students in the waiting list.
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30-July-2023:
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Second-round students to convey their acceptances.
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