ICCR Scholarship 2025-2026

High Commission of India
Wellington
***

Several Scholarship Schemes offered by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), for Academic Year 2025-26.

2. Currently, Indian Council for Cultural Relation (ICCR) has announced the 640 ICCR Scholarships slots under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee General Scholarship Scheme (41201) (formerly known as General Scholarship Scheme) for the academic year 2025-26.

3. The applications from interested international students for academic year 2025-26 are invited online through ICCR's A2A Scholarship Portal https://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in, which will be operational from 20th February 2025. Once the student has obtained admission on A2A portal and then the Mission will decide to award scholarship to that particular student, he/she (student) may be advised to register on SII portal for obtaining Unique ID and further process including obtaining visa and registration with FRRO (VISA and FRRO registration are to be processed on SII portal). Also a 'Timeline for the admission process' has been set which is given below for reference. It is also requested to adhere to the following timeline:-

20-February-2025	Opening of Portal for Inviting Applications from Interested Candidates.
30-April-2025	Last date of application to be submitted by students.
31-May-2025	Last date of Universities to inform the decision (if confirmed, intimation to Missions; if rejected, intimation to students).
15-June-2025	Last date for allocating scholarship and generating Offer Letters by Missions/Posts.
22 June-2025	Last date of acceptance by students
01-July-2025	Based on the number of acceptances in the first round (if acceptances are less than the scholarship seats allocated) Indian Mission to offer scholarship to other students who were not considered in the first round.
10-July-2025	Second-round students to convey their acceptances,

4. ICCR has rationalized the list of Universities/Institutes for scholarship and now there are 131 Universities/Institutes on board wlth ICCR for the AY 2025-26. The list of Universities/Institutes will be reflected in application Portal when opened.

5. List of courses offered and the criteria/pre-requisites for admission in these Universities/Institutes may be referred to on the respective University website by the applicant. This is to avoid time delays in processing applications. A2A Portal has web links of each of the University and courses offered by them.

6. Highlights of admission process and admission flow chart (Annexure 'B' and Annexure 'C' respectively) may be seen for more details - Click here

7. For further queries, students may contact AIU at Telephone No +91-11-23230059 / 23231097 / 23232305; Extn. No: 210, 234, 252

e-mail: studentinfo@aiu.ac.in or ds_international@aiu.ac.in

Age Limit:

Minimum/Maximum Age limit for students under various courses is as under:

PhD Programmes : 50 Years Maximum
UG/PG Courses : 18 – 40 Years (18 years as on date 01.07.2025)

Qualification/ Eligibility (IMPORTANT INFO):

Applications should be complete in every details to avoid rejection of the same by the A2A portal/University/Institute.
For admission in UG level courses, it is compulsory to have 10+2 i.e; (12 years-High Secondary level) of schooling. It is, therefore, necessary that the student applying for UG level courses must complete 12 years of schooling.
Students who are already pursuing Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) courses in India and intend to pursue further studies will have to apply afresh through A2A portal to process their applications, as the applications will not be entertained and processed physically.
In order to pursue studies in Engineering/Science, students should have studied Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry at Higher Secondary levels.
In Biology-based science subjects, students should have studied Biology, Physics and Chemistry at Higher Secondary.
In case of documents available in local language, applicants are requested to upload certified copies of translations of these documents in English. In case of unavailability of English transcript, the application will be rejected.
ICCR scholarships are meant for admissions only in the Indian State/Central Universities/Institutes or colleges affiliated to and recognized by the Indian State and Central Universities. The list of such Universities/Institutes, empanelled with ICCR, is available on the Portal.
ICCR does not offer scholarship for Private colleges or Universities.
Student has the option of applying in 5 Universities/Institutes of his/her choice in preferential order through A2A Scholarship Portal.
In order to avoid rejection from Universities/colleges, applicants are advised to make their subject choices carefully, based on the subjects they have studied at Higher Secondary.
Rejected candidates will be intimated by Universities. We have requested Universities to inform students if their application is rejected.
It is reiterated that the admission remains provisional till the time Universities verify the authenticity of original documents. If original documents are not found in order on which provisional admission has been granted by University, the admission offer will be revoked and the student(s) will have to return to their country at their own cost.
Students should not be allowed or supposed to do any part time/full time job along with his/her studies.
It may be noted that for BE / B. Tech courses, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM) are compulsory in 11 and 12 Grades and it is a mandatory requirement for Engineering courses. Mark sheets for each i.e., level 10 and 10+2 equivalent level of school should be uploaded alongwith the transcripts in English. The application will not be considered without English translation of documents the original document are not in English. It may also be noted that incomplete application can be summarily rejected by Universities. Students should be advised to thoroughly check their applications and attach requisite documents before submission of the application.
Medium of instruction is English in all the Universities in India. Applicants should therefore have good knowledge of English to the extent that they are able to speak fluently in English and comprehend lessons in English without any difficulty. Since AY 2023-24, a 500-word essay in English has been introduced to ascertain English proficiency. Besides, students can also submit their TOFEL / IELTS etc. Standardized Test scores, if available, ICCR is also requesting Universities/Institutes to conduct interview of the applicants online, if so required. There will be no separate English test by Missions, as was earlier.
ICCR has introduced disbursement of all scholarship payment to students through PFMS w.e.f. February, 2021. This is as per GOI guidelines on direct payment to beneficiaries.
The 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.
Please note that for Science courses, the expenditure on laboratory chemicals and other related incidental charges will be borne by the scholars themselves.
It is also important to ensure that a scholarship is awarded only after the Mission is satisfied that student intends to study in India; has no serious health issues; has not submitted incomplete /fraudulent documentation or any other such parameters, which may negate our objective of promoting goodwill through scholarships.
Interested students may be advised to visit respective University / institute website regularly courses offered, eligibility criteria and general information about the University / institute before applying for admission. The students should ensure that they are eligible for the course and meet the eligibility criteria and should submit relevant documentation as required by the Universities, in addition to the basic certificates mentioned in the application form. It is also advised to refer to the University's Handbook / University Grants Commission's website etc.
It is compulsory for all ICCR scholarship students to procure Medical insurance policy with minimum sum assured for Indian Rupees Five Lakhs per annum. This is to informed that when applicant travel to India, he/she must have medical insurance coverage on their own either before travel or immediately after reaching India, whichever is convenient. Students can purchase medical insurance from any of the insurance companies of their choice. However to facilitate students, Portal has two insurance companies for referral purpose.