Study In UK: India’s home ministry lifts ban on bureaucrats applying for British government-funded Chevening scholarship

GOOD news for Indian bureaucrats eying for the prestigious British government-funded Chevening scholarship. Nearly three years after Indian government employees were banned from taking Chevening scholarship offered by the British High Commission, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in a circular dated January 19, 2010, lifted the restriction thereby widening the scope of Indian bureaucrats to grab fully-funded courses in British Universities as well.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs has now decided to lift the restriction imposed on the grant of permission under Section 9 of FCRA for accepting foreign hospitality offered by the Chevening Fellowship,” the circular said. The official letters were issued to chief secretaries of all states and secretaries of ministries and departments of government of India.

Significantly, in a related development, the government in September, 2009, had issued a circular saying that no officer was allowed to raise fund or ask for contribution from any source to finance his or her study if prior government permission was not obtained. The notice came in the backdrop of detection of a few cases where officers had negotiated or taken financial assistance from private bodies and other domestic organizations, not known to sponsor study programmes, for financing their study programmes, without the previous knowledge of the government.

In fact, the Chevening scholarships are among the top scholarship schemes in the world which allow over 1000 scholars from around the world to study in UK.

Still have any confusion? Just pick up the phone to call Ritika Kochhar, Head, Chevening Scholarships, British High Commission, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi -- 21; Phone: 011-24192180, or mail her at: Ritika.Kochhar@fco.gov.uk

Actual CIRCULAR, dated January 19, 2010 on permission for availing Chevening
Also Read

Don’t raise fund yourself to study abroad

Govt to sponsor civil servants at Harvard, IDS, Duke, ISS etc.
Important Site

Education UK