The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India, introduced a Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC) in the academic year 2006-07, for wards of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to assist them in pursuing Higher and Technical Education in India.

Educational Consultants India Limited (Ed.CIL), a Government of India Enterprise, has been designated as the Nodal Agency for implementation of the Programme.

This Scheme is applicable for undergraduate studies in Professional and General Courses (except Medical and related courses). Assistance provided under this scheme comprises of financial assistance primarily towards tuition fee, admission fee, and post admission services.

This Programme is applicable to Indian Diaspora from the 40 selected countries including Sri Lanka.

Scholarship is provided to 100 selected students with 50 under Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) NRI category and 50 under Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) category. In case of no availability of suitable PIO candidates, the unfilled slots could be offered to NRI candidates.

The objective of the 'Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children' (SPDC) is to make available India's highly developed higher education system to Children of Indian Diaspora (PIOs and NRIs) living in select countries. There are ample facilities for higher education in India. The scheme also aims to strengthen ties between Indian Diaspora and Indian culture.

DASA (Direct Admission to Students Abroad)

DASA stands for Direct Admission to Students Abroad. Run by the Government of India, this scheme offers direct admission to undergraduate Programmes to the deserving foreign nationals/ Persons of Indian Origins (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Administered by the Educational Consultants of India, the courses under this programme are offered by the National Institutes of Technology (formerly Regional Engineering Colleges) and other centrally funded institutes (other than IITs) and Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh.

Through this scheme, the Government of India aims to provide quality education to the children of overseas Indians in the field of Engineering and technology. The institutions covered under this scheme are known for providing quality education in Engineering and technology. All these institutions have reasonably good facilities for accommodation, sports and extra curricular activities.

Under DASA Scheme, admissions are offered to Foreign Nationals / PIOs / NRIs who fulfill the following eligibility criteria :

• Candidates must have passed the qualifying examination i.e. senior secondary or any other examination equivalent to 12 years of schooling in India.

• Candidates must have scored minimum aggregate marks of 60% or 6.75 CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) on 10 point Scale or Equivalent Grades in all the subject of the qualifying Examination.

• Indian nationals seeking admissions should have studied abroad for a minimum period of five years (including the qualifying examination i.e. XI & XII Standards) during the last eight years.

Some of the Institutes that come under DASA are listed below :

• Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
• Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
• National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala
• National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal
• National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh
• Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab
• National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
• National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana
• Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, Maharashtra
• National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Orissa
• Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat
• National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Karnataka
• National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
• National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh
• Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
• National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology, Ranchi, Jharkhand
• North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
• Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Longowal, Punjab
• Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh