Govt of India ICCR scholarship for African students to study in India
Are you an African student looking for some support for your higher studies in India? In that case, the Indian government has brought to you a scholarship program called the ICCR scholarship. This scholarship program is meant for African students and it is supposed to help them complete their college or university courses in India.
Introduction
The ICCR scholarship, also known as ICCR Africa scholarship, is for deserving students in African countries who wish to complete their higher studies in India. The stipend for this scholarship is very good and covers the needs of any student coming to study here. To obtain this scholarship, you need to study an undergraduate or postgraduate or doctoral or postdoctoral course that is provided in their list of scholarships. Until now, the courses related to surgery such as BDS or MBBS are left out from the scope of this scholarship. You also need to find out that if the university or college, where you are applying to study in India belongs to the list of the affiliated institutions for this scholarship. So, if you are willing to opt for this scholarship, then it would be a wise decision to first choose the institution and then choose the course.Eligibility for ICCR scholarship
Visa Specifications
The students should have a valid student visa before applying for a course in any college providing an ICCR scholarship. You need to apply for a research visa if you apply for a doctoral course in India. In order to study doctoral courses, just having a student visa will not suffice. Now, what happens if you are pursuing a master's degree in India, for example, M.Sc. Microbiology and then you have been selected to continue research, that is, PhD in Microbiology? Well, in that case, you will have to return to Africa and then again apply for a research visa. You can check with the embassy of your country as to the amount of time it will take for the visa to be processed. When you know that time you can get the return ticket to India while purchasing the ticket to Africa. Scholarship Amounts
Under this scholarship you can enroll for undergraduate, postgraduate or doctoral courses. The scholarship amount varies in each case. The authorities will provide you with a yearly contingency amount in either of these courses. For undergraduate courses you get a monthly stipend of Rs.18,000, for postgraduate courses you get a monthly stipend of Rs.20,000, and for Ph.D. courses you get a monthly stipend of Rs.22,000. You can also apply for postdoctoral fellowships, where the monthly stipend is Rs. 25,500. For the latter two cases, there is a dissertation amount that is paid to you by the college. This means that the amount paid by the college covers your costs to publish the end of course dissertation. The amounts are Rs. 7000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively.FAQs about ICCR scholarship
Yes, it does. However, it covers only the hostel fees. This means you will be eligible for the monthly rent of the hostel accommodation of your college or university. The scholarship is not liable to pay security deposits if the college or university hostel has taken from you any. In addition to that, once you are selected for the scholarship, you will have to stay in the college or university hostel.
No, you cannot change your college or university or your doctoral guide once you have enrolled under any one of these under your scholarship. Therefore, go through the list of colleges or universities which offer courses for ICCR candidates. Then go through the reviews of those colleges and universities. You can check Facebook pages of alumni of those colleges and get to know more about the courses and other facilities offered by those colleges or universities. Therefore, be absolutely sure before you apply in that institute as an ICCR fellow.
Yes, you need to produce a medical certificate that proves your fitness to study the course you have enrolled for. This doesn't mean that you cannot get ill while you are studying. ICCR will be providing for the general illnesses that you may suffer from, during the course of your studies. However, you will not be considered eligible for this scholarship, if you are already suffering from any contagious or life-threatening or any fatal disease.
Yes, but there are some restrictions in this regard. Generally, the return ticket to your country is borne by the scholarship authorities. This ticket will be provided to you only when you successfully complete the course in India. Some colleges may also provide the airfare to come to India to study the course, but you need to confirm that while taking admission in the college.Conclusion
In the end, I would like to mention that if you are facing trouble in coping with the costs of your international higher studies, then you can think of applying for this scholarship. This is a great opportunity for deserving African students who cannot get good higher study opportunities in their countries but can succeed well if given a chance in India. So make the most of this scholarship if you get one and currently prepare yourself to apply for 2021-22 scholarship.
This is really a blessing time for the African students as they are now eligible to get the ICCR scholarship which is solely dedicated to the African students studying in India. The author has brought in all the details as to what, where, how and whom to approach for this scholarships along with the eligibility criteria. One thing is sure, it is good on the part of government of India to consider poor nations like Africa students to be eligible for this kind of scholarships as there are more students heading for India and wants to have higher studies with their limited income at the disposal. I sincerely hope the budding African students should not face any hassle as regards to getting the scholarships through ICCR. All the best to every African student.