Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday launched the ‘Bidesh Sikhyabruti’ scholarship scheme to provide financial assistance to meritorious students belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities for pursuing postgraduate and PhD studies at reputed foreign universities.
Introduced under the Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chhatra Protsahan Yojana (MMCPY), the scheme will support 50 students every year, with financial assistance covering tuition fees, living expenses and miscellaneous costs related to overseas education.
For the academic sessions 2025-26 and 2026-27, eligible students can apply through the Odisha State Scholarship Portal from August 18 to August 31, 2026.
According to the Higher Education Department guidelines, the scheme is aimed at widening access to international higher education for students from disadvantaged communities and helping them pursue academic and professional opportunities at the global level.
The scholarship is available only to SC and ST students who are permanent residents of Odisha. Applicants must have secured an unconditional admission offer from a foreign university or institution ranked among the top 200 in the latest available QS rankings at the time of applying.
The applicant’s annual gross family income should not exceed Rs 12 lakh. Income from all sources of all family members, including pensionary benefits, will be taken into account.
Applicants must also declare that they are not regular employees of the Central or state government, a public sector undertaking (PSU) or an autonomous body at the time of application.
For postgraduate programmes, applicants must have secured at least 65% marks in the relevant bachelor’s degree and should not be above 35 years of age.
For PhD programmes, candidates must have secured at least 65% marks in the relevant master’s degree and should not be above 40 years of age.
The scholarship can be availed only once in a student’s lifetime, either for a postgraduate or a PhD programme.
Under the scheme, the government will provide financial assistance of up to approximately Rs 25 lakh per student per year.
The assistance will comprise up to Rs 15 lakh towards tuition fees, subject to actual expenditure, Rs 7 lakh towards living expenses and Rs 3 lakh towards miscellaneous expenses, including travel, insurance and other incidental costs.
The overall assistance will be capped at Rs 50 lakh per course per student.
For postgraduate programmes, assistance may be provided for one or two years, depending on the duration of the course. For PhD programmes, financial assistance will be available for a maximum of two years. No extension will be provided beyond the prescribed period.
Selection will primarily be based on the ranking of the foreign university or institution where the applicant has secured admission.
A merit list will be prepared on the basis of the latest available QS ranking, with candidates admitted to higher-ranked institutions getting preference.
In case of a tie, the marks or grades obtained in the previous qualifying examination will be considered. Family income will then be taken into account, with preference given to candidates from lower-income families.
The Odisha State Higher Education Council (OSHEC) will function as the nodal agency for the selection process.
A Selection-cum-Screening Committee will scrutinise applications, verify academic and admission documents and examine the ranking and accreditation of foreign institutions. The committee will also conduct personal interviews before recommending candidates for final selection.
Representatives from the Higher Education Department, Skill Development & Technical Education Department, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Department and Health & Family Welfare Department, along with subject experts and academicians, will be part of the selection process.
Selected candidates will initially receive provisional scholarship award letters. However, beneficiaries will not be allowed to receive another scholarship or financial assistance for the same course from the government, a PSU, university, college or any other organisation.
If a student subsequently receives a fellowship, grant, stipend, fee waiver or other financial assistance for the same purpose, the government may cancel the scholarship.
Students who are already studying or have completed studies abroad using another scholarship or their own funds will also not be eligible.
The guidelines also restrict beneficiaries from changing their course of study after the scholarship has been sanctioned, except in circumstances specifically permitted under the scheme.
Selected candidates may be allowed a maximum one-year deferral from the date of issue of the provisional award letter to join the foreign university or institution. Failure to join within the permitted period may lead to cancellation of the award.
Scholarship recipients will also have to submit academic progress reports and other mandatory documents as required. Failure to comply with the monitoring requirements may lead to recovery of the scholarship amount along with interest and other action as prescribed under the guidelines.
The scheme is expected to provide a major opportunity for meritorious SC and ST students from Odisha who aspire to study at leading foreign universities but face financial constraints.
With assistance towards tuition, living and other expenses, the government hopes to make globally recognised postgraduate and doctoral education more accessible to students from disadvantaged communities and encourage the development of skilled professionals, researchers and academicians from the state.
