30 INDIA AFRICA SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME OPPORTUNITIES

DEADLINE: 30 APRIL 2023

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (www.iccr.gov.in) is offering 30 Scholarship for students from the Kingdom of Eswatini under the Africa Scholarship Scheme (G0179) for the Academic Year 2023-24. These scholarships cover from undergraduate to PhD courses.

Applications from interested Emaswati students will be invited online through ICCR’s A2A Scholarship Portal http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in, which will be operational from 20 February 2023.

A Timeline for the admission process has been set which is given below for reference:

20 Feb 2023: Opening of ICCR’s A2A Scholarship Portal http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in

30 Apr 2023: Last date of application to be submitted by students

31 May 2023: Last date of Universities to inform the decision (if confirmed, intimation to Missions; if rejected, intimation to students)

30 Jun 2023: Last date of allocating scholarship and generating Offer Letters by the High Commission

15 Jul 2023: Last date of acceptance by students

22 Jul 2023: Based on the number of acceptances in the first round (if acceptances are less than the scholarship seats allocated) High Commission to offer scholarship to other students who were not considered in the first round 30 Jul 2023: Second round students to convey their acceptances

Highlights of the Scheme/Admission process (for more information, visit http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in:, which will be open from 20 Feb 2023)

➢ Applications will be directly sent by students to respective universities.

➢ While for the undergraduate courses the age limit is between 18 and 30 years, for PhD programmes, the age limit is between 18 and 45 years.

➢Admissions in Medical/Paramedical (Nursing, Physiotherapy, anesthesia etc.)/fashion/law courses/integrated courses such as BA, LLB (5 years)/B.Sc. & M.Sc (5 years) etc. are not admissible.

➢ It may be noted that for BE/B.Tech courses, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics are compulsory in 11-12 Grades (Form-IV&V) and Mark sheets for Grades 10 to 12 (Form III-V), equivalent level of school should be uploaded along with transcripts.

➢ Applicants have the option to apply to 5 Universities/Institutes in the order of their preference.

➢ A 500-word essay in English is introduced to ascertain English proficiency. Students can also submit their TOFEL/IELTS etc. Standardised Test scores, if available. If desired, Universities will directly conduct interview of applicants online.

➢ Rejected candidates will be intimated by Universities.

➢ As part of Government of India’s guidelines on direct payment to beneficiaries, scholarship payment to students would be through PFMS.

➢ The scholarships include return economy class airfares and the selected scholars will be issued one way air-ticket to the nearest airport to the University/institution.

➢ Students are advised to visit University/Institute website and do thorough research of course offered, eligibility criteria and general information before applying for admission.

➢ Scholarship is awarded only after the High Commission is satisfied that the student intending to study in India has no serious health issues, has not submitted incomplete/fraudulent documentation or any other such parameters, which may negate the objective of promoting goodwill through these scholarships.

➢All ICCR scholarship students have to obtain medical insurance coverage on their own at a cost of E750 per annum or its equivalent in Indian Rupees (about INR 4,000/-) which should secure a minimum assured sum of INR 500,000/- equivalent to about US$ 6700/- per annum before their travel to India or immediately after reaching India, whichever is convenient. A2A Portal has two insurance companies for referral purposes. However, students can purchase medical insurance from any of the insurance companies of their choice in Eswatini/India.

➢ Students are advised to obtain the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) equivalence (wherever required) as per stipulations of the concerned University/Institute in their Provisional Confirmation letter. For this purpose, students may apply at the link https://evaluation.aiu.ac.in/student/login and bear the fees to be incurred on obtaining the certificate at own expense.

➢ Students are advised not to visit the High Commission at this stage for any queries, without prior appointment. Queries, if any, may be sent at inf.mbabane@mea.gov.in.