Record number of candidates for diaspora scholarship scheme

By IANS


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New Delhi : A record number of 223 students from the Indian diaspora will vie for the Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC) 2007-08 awarded by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) in an examination to be held in 15 countries Sunday.

The Common Written Examination (CWE) for SPDC will be held in Bahrain, Fiji, Guyana, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen, besides Delhi, according to an MOIA official.

The candidates will be competing for 100 seats in 34 institutes in India for undergraduate courses in engineering, humanities, fashion technology, pharmacy science and agriculture.

The scholarship comprises financial assistance primarily towards tuition fee, admission in the selected institutions and courses and post-admission services.

MOIA introduced this scheme last year with the aim of making available India's higher education system for children of the Indian diaspora across the world.

Last year, 117 candidates had appeared for the test and 91 qualified. Of them, 67 opted to join their courses of choice.

This year, the highest number of candidates is from UAE (73), followed by Kuwait (64) and Saudi Arabia (37). In Delhi, 53 candidates will sit for the test.

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