10  Sri Lankan youth selected for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) undergraduate scholarships in fine arts (Music, Dance and Painting) visited the High Commission of India today (2 July 2012) before leaving for India to join their respective Institutes. The students had applied for the scholarships in response to applications invited by the Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo and were selected through a transparent process.

Of these 10 youth, two would be learning Kathakali at the Kerala Kala Mandalam in Thrissur District, Kerala;  four would be joining Kathak, Tabla and Painting courses at the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata; one would be learning Kathak at Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh; and three would be learning Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music at the Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai.

The students were looking forward to join their respective Institutes and were thankful to the Government of India for the scholarship scheme which has provided them an opportunity to go to India to pursue these courses at highly reputed Institutes.

Approximately 8-10 scholarships are also awarded to Sri Lankan youth to study Hindi at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra and the process of selection is underway for this year’s courses.

Selection of applicants for ten scholarships for Sri Lankan nationals under the “Ayush Scholarship Scheme” for UG/PG/Ph.D courses in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy for the academic session 2012– 2013 is also being finalized.

These schloarships are in addition to the substantially expanded scholarships programme to meritorious Sri Lankan students announced during the visit of Hon’ble Mr. S.M. Krishna, Minister of External Affairs of India during his visit to Sri Lanka in January 2012. Under the expanded scholarship programme, the number of scholarships and Self-Finance slots for Undergraduate/Masters/PhD courses have been increased from the earlier 113 slots to 270 per year. In addition, scholarship support to deserving students pursuing their GCE ‘A’ level and University degrees in Sri Lanka has been expanded to cover about 500 students annually.

Further details about scholarships offered by the Government of India are available on www.hcicolombo.org