Scholarships and Fellowships for Indian Women

Harleen Bedi | Shiksha.com

The Indian government has been launching many programmes aimed at providing quality education to women. A lot has happened since the last two decades, in terms of putting women on an equal footing with men in education. Unfortunately, the cost involved in college education still prevents many women from pursuing the career of their choice and achieving professional goals.

If you are a woman looking to get enrolled in a college, you have many options available to you in terms of financial aid. There are many scholarships and grants to apply for that can ease the cost of tuition. The majority of scholarships for women have vocational requirements. Whether you are hoping to major in engineering or seeking admission in a polytechnic, you have many options available.

Following is a list of scholarships available to Indian women.

1. Google India Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship - The Google India “Women in Engineering” Award aims to reward deserving women students in Computer Science and related majors, and inspire them to become active participants and leaders in the field of technology.

 2. L’Oréal India ‘For Young Women in Science’ Scholarship Programme – This scholarship is meant to encourage and support young women to pursue careers in science.  It is granted to 30 brilliant but economically disadvantaged women and covers college fees for study in any scientific field in a recognized college or university in India.

 3. Sarojini Naidu Memorial Scholarship – This scholarship covers the expenses of post-graduate study or research. Even women who are foreign national can apply for this scholarship, given they will study in India. It is designed to promote the exchange of scholars between India and other countries, and to promote studies on Indian culture and other areas. The subject area should be in the humanities or social sciences with special reference to India.

 4. Post-Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child- The aim of this scholarship is to help families meet the expenses of a girl’s education. UGC introduced this scholarship for families at all levels of the social hierarchy, provided the family comprises of a single girl child only. This scholarship is meant to promote the importance of girls’ education.

 5. Lila Poonawalla Foundation scholarships - This foundation offers scholarship to girls residing in Pune on the basis of merit and need. The undergraduate candidates’ age must be less than 25 years, and that of the post-graduate candidates should be below 30 years. It provides scholarship only in the field of engineering studies on the UG level. For PG level this scholarship is valid in any chosen field of education.

 6. Lady Meherbai D. Tata Education Trust - The Lady Meherbai D. Tata Education Trust awards scholarships to Indian women graduates from India who wish to pursue higher education abroad. The eligibily criterias for this scholarship are simple; the applicant must have a consistently good academic record, and have secured admission at a university or institution in the United States, U.K. or Europe for the current academic year.

 7. Disha – A scholarship program for women scientists in India – This scheme has been evolved by the Department of Science and Technology for providing opportunities to women scientists and technologists between the age group of 30-50 years, who desire to return to mainstream science after entering motherhood.

 8. K. C. Mahindra All India Talent Scholarships for Diploma Courses in Polytechnic - This scholarship is open for those opting for Diploma courses from a Polytechnic. Although this scholarship is open for all, preference is given to girl students. The eligibility criterias are that the candidate must be 10th Passed and should have secured admission into govt. polytechnics for diploma.

 9. Women Scientists Scheme (WOS-A) - The ‘Women Scientists Scheme (WOS-A)’ of the Department of Science and Technology is aimed to provide opportunities to women scientists and technologists for pursuing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. A special provision has been made under this Scheme to encourage those women scientists who have had breaks in their careers.

 10. Women Scientists Fellowship Scheme (WOS-B)  – This scheme will provide an opportunity for women scientists to re-enter into active research after a break in career, through support for science and technology based R&D projects addressing the needs of people in unorganized urban or rural areas. This Program of DST is co-ordinated by MACS – Agharkar Research Institute.

 11. Women Scientist Scholarship (WOS-C) - The scheme aims to train women having qualifications in science/engineering/medicine for a period of one year. This is an Indian government initiative aimed at retaining the scientific talent of Indian women and to encourage to work from their homes, enabling them to draw good balance between professional and domestic demands. The selection of candidates is done by an All-India Level written test followed by an interview

 12. Maulana Azad National Scholarship Scheme for Meritorious Girl Students Belonging to Minorities – This Scholarship will provide for expenditure on payment of College Fee, purchase of books, purchase of stationery required for the course & payment of boarding charges. Only Girl Students belonging to National Minorities, (i.e. Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis) can apply.