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Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
2.5 lakh girls in 18 states to get Premji scholarship in higher education
Bengaluru: Azim Premji Foundation (APF) will expand Azim Premji Scholarship to 2.5 lakh girl students across 18 states from this year to support them in pursuing higher education. The programme started as a pilot project in 2024-25 was operational in Madhya Pradesh and certain districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The Foundation hopes it will reach 2.5 lakh girls in the academic year 2025-26. That is a commitment of Rs 750 crore in one year and Rs 2,250 crore in three years. Girls who have completed class 10 and 12 schooling in govt schools and have admission in a bona fide higher education institution, including all govt higher education institutions and select private institutions, are eligible for the scholarship. The scholarship will include Rs 30,000 a year for the duration of the degree or diploma programme. "A girl pursuing a four-year BSc (Nursing) will get Rs 1,20,000 scholarship support in those four years. The money will be transferred in two instalments to the girl's bank account directly every year. She may use the money as needed," stated the foundation. In the pilot project, APF received 1.1 lakh applications and 25,000 were found eligible. A commitment of Rs 75 crore this year was made for those girls. The students have been in college only for a few months now. "In most govt institutions, girls have a tuition-fee waiver. But there's also a lot of other expenses. They end up spending money on clothing, books, and transportation for which she will get this Rs 30,000. There's no restriction that she has to spend it for a particular cause," said Anurag Behar, chief executive officer, APF. "There's nothing complicated in the design of this scholarship. The primary school enrolment percentage of girls and boys is almost equal. But as you progress through primary school to middle school to higher secondary and then college, things change. Among those who come from disadvantaged, vulnerable families, very often it is the girl who sacrifices. It's not as though money is the only reason. But financial issues are one reason because of which a very large percentage of girls do not continue into higher education. Therefore, our hope is that with this kind of scholarship support, many more girls will continue into that also. Higher education, after all, changes life prospects," he said. The scholarship programme is likely to be expanded to the entire country in coming years, he added. This is neither a merit-based scholarship nor is it bounded by family income. "The practical reality is that if you start going into all those kinds of details, it's impossible to handle it. Around 90-95% of the children going to govt school come from relatively disadvantaged families. No rich people's kids go to govt schools these days, unfortunately. We don't want to do any further diligence on that," he said. WHICH ARE THE STATES * Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand * Application process for 2025-26 starts in Sept 2025
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Azim Premji Foundation plans to disburse Rs 2,250 crores in scholarships for girls pursuing higher education
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Azim Premji Foundation on Thursday announced a financial support initiative for girls pursuing higher education in the country. Starting in the academic year 2025–26, the programme aims to support up to 2.5 lakh girls across 18 states investing about Rs 2,250 crores for three Azim Premji scholarship is open to girls who have completed their Class 10 and 12 from government schools and have secured admission in recognised higher education institutions (HEIs) across courses in public or select private selected student will receive Rs 30,000 annually for the full duration of their degree or diploma programme. The funds will be directly transferred to their bank accounts in two installments each year, the foundation said.'Despite India's progress, girls continue to face societal and financial hurdles in accessing higher education,' said Anurag Behar, CEO of Azim Premji Foundation. 'This scholarship is our commitment to help them gain greater control over their lives,' he programme was piloted in 2024–25 in Madhya Pradesh and select districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. Over 25,000 girls received the scholarship during the pilot phase, with their first-year funds already disbursed, Behar told the application process for the 2025–26 cycle will begin in September. The 18 participating states include Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and the entire northeast, among others. The Foundation plans to expand the scholarship pan-India in the coming marks one of the largest philanthropic investments in girls' higher education in India, the Azim Premji foundation said adding that this will help the students meet their out of pocket expenditure that are usually not covered under other educational scholarships.
Economic Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Azim Premji Foundation plans to disburse Rs 2,250 crores in scholarships for girls pursuing higher education
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Azim Premji Foundation on Thursday announced a financial support initiative for girls pursuing higher education in the country. Starting in the academic year 2025–26, the programme aims to support up to 2.5 lakh girls across 18 states investing about Rs 2,250 crores for three Azim Premji scholarship is open to girls who have completed their Class 10 and 12 from government schools and have secured admission in recognised higher education institutions (HEIs) across courses in public or select private selected student will receive Rs 30,000 annually for the full duration of their degree or diploma programme. The funds will be directly transferred to their bank accounts in two installments each year, the foundation said.'Despite India's progress, girls continue to face societal and financial hurdles in accessing higher education,' said Anurag Behar, CEO of Azim Premji Foundation. 'This scholarship is our commitment to help them gain greater control over their lives,' he programme was piloted in 2024–25 in Madhya Pradesh and select districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. Over 25,000 girls received the scholarship during the pilot phase, with their first-year funds already disbursed, Behar told the application process for the 2025–26 cycle will begin in September. The 18 participating states include Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and the entire northeast, among others. The Foundation plans to expand the scholarship pan-India in the coming marks one of the largest philanthropic investments in girls' higher education in India, the Azim Premji foundation said adding that this will help the students meet their out of pocket expenditure that are usually not covered under other educational scholarships.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Azim Premji Foundation announces higher education scholarships for 2.5 lakh girls
The Azim Premji Foundation on Thursday launched the Azim Premji Scholarship to support girls pursuing higher education after completing school. The programme aims to assist up to 2.5 lakh girls in the 2025-26 academic year across 18 states in India. The scholarship is open to girls who have completed Class 10 and 12 in government schools and secured admission to a recognised higher education institution for a degree or diploma programme. All government institutions and select private ones are eligible. The scholarship provides Rs 30,000 per year for the duration of the degree or diploma programme provided the recipient continues to progress successfully. For instance, a student in a four-year BSc nursing programme will receive Rs 1,20,000 over four years. Funds will be transferred directly to the student's bank account in two instalments annually, allowing flexibility in their use. However, the scholarship will be discontinued if the beneficiary drops out of education due to various reasons. The initiative will cover 18 states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. In the 2024-25 academic year, the programme was piloted in Madhya Pradesh and select districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand, benefiting over 25,000 girls. Funds for the first year have already been disbursed. 'Good school education is foundational for life, while higher education changes social and economic prospects in life. Despite the all-around progress India has made, girls continue to confront differential societal and financial hurdles at all levels of education. We are making a significant commitment to support girls to pursue higher education, which will help them gain greater control over their life's trajectory,' said Anurag Behar, Chief Executive Officer, Azim Premji Foundation. According to the foundation's press statement, applications for the 2025-26 cycle will open in September 2025. Details, including any updates to the programme's design or coverage, will be announced at the start of the application period. The foundation also plans to expand the scholarship to cover all states in the coming years.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Azim Premji Foundation announces scholarship for up to 2.5 lakh girls
The Azim Premji Foundation on Thursday announced the Azim Premji Scholarship for up to 2.5 lakh girl students from government schools across 18 States for pursuing higher education. A scholarship of ₹30,000 will be given annually to girl students who have passed their 10th and 12th examinations in government schools and have received admission in a bona fide higher education institution (HEI). These bona fide HEIs will include all government HEIs and selective private HEIs as well. The ₹30,000 scholarship will continue for the duration of the girl's college/university programme, so long as the girl successfully continues in the programme. 'There is no additional criteria or eligibility for the candidates. We are not conducting any exams or checking the financial backgrounds of the students,' said Anurag Behar, the Chief Executive Officer of the Azim Premji Foundation. He stated the reason for such a type of screening was that more than 90% of government school children come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The scholarship aims to ease some of the financial burdens of girl students pursuing a higher education, rather than focus on too many checklists or screening processes. He also noted that while primary school admissions for girls were almost equal to those of boys, higher education admission numbers showed a lesser percentage of girls. 'Tuition fees are often waived off or given at a discount for girls from disadvantaged financial backgrounds. But additional expenses like commute, clothes, books etc discourage them from pursuing their higher education,' he explained. A pilot test of the 'Azim Premji Scholarship' was launched in 2024-25 across certain districts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand, where over 25,000 girls were selected for the scholarship. For the academic year of 2025-26, the scholarship has officially been launched across 18 States, some of which include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Telangana, Tripura, Odisha, and Mizoram. The application process for 2025-26 will start in September 2025. Students can apply online. The scholarship program is a ₹250 crore commitment across three years by the foundation, and is likely to be expanded to cover the entire country in coming years.
