The Higher Education Department of Odisha has set a significant benchmark for its ambitious overseas scholarship scheme. Released on Monday, the official guidelines for the Bidesh Sikhyabruti scholarship now require candidates from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities to have an admission offer from a university ranked within the top 200 of the global QS World University Rankings.
Eligibility and Selection Process
The scholarship, launched last month by Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, is designed to fund SC and ST students pursuing postgraduate (PG) and doctoral (PhD) studies abroad across all disciplines. The Odisha State Higher Education Council (OSHEC) will be the nodal agency responsible for drawing up a merit list of eligible candidates based solely on the admission letters they receive from these prestigious foreign institutes.
The selection process will prioritize the university's ranking. A candidate with an admission letter from a higher-ranked institution will be placed higher on the merit list. In instances where two or more candidates have offers from universities with the same QS ranking, the tie will be broken by comparing the marks or grades the students secured in their previous qualifying examinations. All foreign institutions must be accredited and recognized by the national regulatory body of their host country.
Financial Support and Annual Intake
The scheme offers substantial financial aid. Eligible candidates whose family's annual income is Rs 12 lakh or less will receive a generous grant of Rs 25 lakh per year for either a PG or PhD program. The scholarship aims to support 50 students each academic year. This annual quota is divided into specific streams: 10 seats for technical courses, 10 for medical, agriculture, and other professional courses, and the remaining 30 for general courses under the higher education department.
Governance and Monitoring
Arvind Agarwal, the commissioner of the department, outlined the administrative framework. OSHEC will form a dedicated selection committee comprising officials from four different departments to prepare the final merit list. To ensure academic progress, beneficiaries will be required to submit their annual progress reports. OSHEC will also undertake the continuous monitoring of the entire scheme to ensure its effective implementation.
This initiative marks a focused effort by the Odisha government to empower students from marginalized communities by providing them access to world-class education, thereby enhancing their global competitiveness and research capabilities.
