The Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme (scheme code A1203) is run by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the cultural body of India’s Ministry of External Affairs. It places students from Commonwealth countries in undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes at Indian universities and institutes.
For the 2026-27 academic year ICCR advertised 20 places worldwide under this scheme. Applicants apply through the ICCR A2A scholarship portal, list up to five course and university preferences from the 131 Indian institutions on the ICCR list, and are selected by the Indian Mission in their own country once a university has offered provisional admission.
Study is full time and on campus in India. Medicine, para-medical, law, integrated and short-term courses are outside the scheme, and admission is limited to state and central universities rather than private or deemed institutions.
Benefits & funding
- Full tuition fees and compulsory university charges.
- A monthly living allowance, house rent allowance and an annual contingent allowance for books and stationery.
- A one-time thesis or dissertation allowance for research students.
- Return economy-class airfare between the home country and India.
- Not covered: hostel or private-accommodation charges, mess charges, registration and immigration fees, and document certification. ICCR guidance advises arriving with roughly USD 1,500 for initial expenses.
Eligibility
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries other than India.
- Minimum age 18 as on 1 July of the entry year; maximum 35 for undergraduate, postgraduate, certificate and diploma courses and 40 for PhD, with no upper limit for Hindi, Sanskrit or Indian performing-arts courses.
- Undergraduate applicants must have completed 12 years of schooling; science and engineering entrants need physics, chemistry and mathematics in the school-leaving examination, and life-science entrants need biology, physics and chemistry.
- PhD applicants must submit a research proposal or synopsis; some MBA programmes require a GMAT score.
- A 500-word essay in English is mandatory; TOEFL, IELTS or equivalent scores may be uploaded as optional additional proof of English ability.
- Passport valid for at least two years from 1 July of the entry year.
- Only one ICCR application per academic year is permitted.
- Medicine and para-medical streams, law, integrated and short-term courses, and private or deemed universities are not eligible.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Antigua and Barbuda · Australia · Bahamas · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belize · Botswana · Brunei · Cameroon · Canada · Cyprus · Dominica
+ 43 more
Eswatini · Fiji · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Grenada · Guyana · Jamaica · Kenya · Kiribati · Lesotho · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Malta · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Nauru · New Zealand · Nigeria · Pakistan · Papua New Guinea · Rwanda · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Solomon Islands · South Africa · Sri Lanka · Tanzania · Togo · Tonga · Trinidad and Tobago · Tuvalu · Uganda · UK · Vanuatu · Zambia
Education required
High School · Bachelor · Master
Age requirement
≥ 18 yrs
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Application process
- 1Register for a login on the ICCR A2A scholarship portal.
- 2Complete the application form and list up to five course and university preferences in order; the choices cannot be changed later.
- 3Upload certified passport pages, all academic certificates and marksheets, a character or recommendation certificate, and a passport photograph of no more than 3.5 x 4.5 cm and 25 kb, filing each document under its own category.
- 4Add certified English translations of any document not issued in English, then submit online before the annual deadline; no submission by post, email or in person is accepted.
- 5Wait for a university to upload a provisional admission, after which the Indian Mission in your country conveys the scholarship offer; reserve-list offers follow in a second round.
- 6Carry the original documents to the university at enrolment for verification.
Program timeline
A2A portal opens for the 2026-27 cycle at 17:00 IST
Feb 27, 2026
Application deadline
Apr 22, 2026
Universities upload admission confirmations
May 31, 2026
Indian Missions complete first-round selections
Jun 15, 2026
Second-round selections for vacant slots close
Jun 30, 2026
Reference date for age limits and passport validity
Jul 1, 2026