**ICCR’s Scholarship Schemes for the Academic Year 2025-26**

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has announced its Scholarship Schemes for the Academic Year 2025-26, which include :

• Lata Mangeshkar Dance & Music Scholarship Scheme (A1209) - Under this scheme, ICCR has announced 100 scholarship slots globally for pursuing study of lndian Culture such as dance, music, theatre, performing art, sculpture, lndian languages, lndian cuisine, etc. at lndian Universities / lnstitutes for the academic year 2025-26.

• Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Cultural Exchange Scholarship Scheme (A1206) - Under this scheme, ICCR has announced 129 scholarship slots globally at Indian Universities/Institutes for the academic year 2025-26.

• A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme (A1203)- Under this scheme, ICCR has announced 24 scholarship slots globally for Undergraduate; Postgraduate; PhD courses at Indian Universities/Institutes for the academic year 2025-26.

Interested international students are invited to apply on-line through ICCR A2A scholarship portal at http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in, which will be operational from February 20, 2025. Students can apply to universities/institutes in their order of preference.

Students are advised to regularly visit respective University/Institute websites to review courses offered, eligibility criteria, and general information about the institutions before applying for admission. They must ensure they meet criteria and submit relevant documentation required by universities in addition to basic certificates mentioned in the application form. It is also recommended that students refer to handbooks or visit University Grants Commission's website.

Applications without English translations of documents (if originals are not in English) will not be considered. Incomplete applications may be summarily rejected by universities. Therefore, students should thoroughly check their applications and attach all requisite documents before submission.

The age limits for availing scholarships as on the date of portal opening are:

(i) For Undergraduate/Postgraduate courses: between 18-40 years

(ii) For PhD Programmes: maximum age of 50 years

All ICCR scholarship students must have a Medical Insurance policy with a minimum sum assured of Rs. Five Hundred Thousand (Rs. 500,000/-) per annum. Students should arrange medical insurance coverage either before traveling or immediately after arriving in India as convenient. While students can purchase insurance from any company of their choice, two insurance companies are recommended on the portal.

Detailed guidelines on applying for ICCR Scholarships are available on http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in.

Once a student obtains admission through the A2A portal and is awarded a scholarship by an Indian Mission/Post, they will need to register on the SII portal to obtain a Unique ID and proceed with obtaining visas and registering with FRRO (to processed via SII).

Timeline for Applying

The time-line for applying for the ICCR General Scholarship is as under:-

For further clarifications or queries regarding this announcement please contact Smt. Hemlata Bansal Programme Officer –Scholarship Division via email POISD @ nic .in ;Landline No:.+91–11–23379199 (Direct)/23379309 /10 /14 (Extn .1137)

***