BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Tuesday rolled out the new ‘Videsh Siksha Bruti’ scholarship scheme for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students seeking to pursue postgraduate and PhD courses in top-ranked foreign universities.
The Higher Education department (DHE) has invited applications from eligible candidates through the state scholarship portal till August 31. The students have been allowed to apply for the scholarship to fund their foreign study under the scheme for both 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic sessions.
The DHE has specified that the scheme has been introduced under the ‘Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chhatra Protsahan Yojana’ (MMCPY) to provide financial assistance to Odisha-domiciled students from ST and SC communities aspiring to pursue PG and PhD courses in the top 200 QS-ranked foreign institutes and universities.
Students having an annual family income of up to `12 lakh are eligible to avail the benefits under the scheme that will support around 50 SC and ST students every year. The student/applicant, however, should not avail any other scholarship or financial assistance from the state, Centre, PSU or any other organisation, including private institutions or persons at the time of receiving the support under the scheme.
The department further underlined that disciplinary action and criminal charges will make a student ineligible to get support under the scheme, while candidates, who have completed higher studies abroad, even through self-funding, will also not be covered under the scheme.
Sources said the applications for the scheme will be invited twice a year - during July-August and December-January. The scholarship will be awarded to 10 students each in engineering and technical education; and medical, agriculture, architecture and other technical courses, and 30 students in courses under the Higher Education department.
Each selected student will receive a scholarship up to `25 lakh per year to support their studies.