The Maulana Azad Scholarship Scheme is one of the Government of India’s standing scholarship offers to Sri Lanka, run by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) through its A2A scholarship portal.
It funds Sri Lankan nationals to take a master’s degree at an Indian university. The scheme’s stated purpose is human resource development in agriculture, science and engineering, and 50 awards are set aside for it each year, out of roughly 270 scholarship and self-finance places India offers Sri Lankan students annually.
Applications are filed online on the A2A portal. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Higher Education and the High Commission of India in Colombo handle nomination and screening, and ICCR in New Delhi confirms the final list. Medicine, paramedical subjects and law sit outside the offer.
Benefits & funding
- Tuition at the empanelled Indian university for the prescribed length of the course — two years for most Indian master’s degrees.
- Monthly living stipend of INR 20,000 at postgraduate level.
- House rent allowance of INR 6,500 a month in Grade-1 cities and INR 5,500 a month elsewhere.
- Annual contingent grant of INR 7,000 for postgraduate students admitted from academic year 2023-24 onward, plus a one-off INR 7,000 grant where the course requires a project report.
- Air fare to the nearest destination in India and an annual grant for educational tours, under India’s Sri Lanka scholarship schemes.
- Health cover is not included: every scholar buys a medical insurance policy with a minimum sum assured of INR 500,000 a year at their own expense.
Eligibility
- Sri Lankan nationality.
- A bachelor’s degree that qualifies you for admission to the master’s course you apply for.
- Aged 18 to 35 on 1 July of the intake year — ICCR’s age band for postgraduate courses.
- Enough English to follow lectures, evidenced by a 500-word essay in English or a TOEFL, IELTS or comparable score.
- A passport valid for at least two years from 1 July of the intake year.
- Medicine, paramedical subjects and law are outside the scheme; agriculture, science and engineering are its stated fields.
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
Sri Lanka
Education required
Bachelor
Age requirement
18–35 yrs
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Application process
- 1Register on the ICCR A2A scholarship portal and select the postgraduate (PG) stream.
- 2Complete the online form and upload the documents the portal lists, including the English essay or test score.
- 3Rank up to five university and course choices in order of preference.
- 4Submit before the portal closes — 22 April for the 2026-27 intake.
- 5Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Higher Education and the High Commission of India in Colombo screen and nominate candidates; universities upload provisional admission confirmations by 31 May and Indian Missions complete selection by 15 June.
- 6Accept or decline the offer on the A2A portal within seven days, submit a medical fitness certificate, and join between June and August on the university’s schedule.
Program timeline
A2A portal opens for applications (2026-27 intake)
Feb 27, 2026
Application deadline
Apr 22, 2026
Universities upload provisional admission confirmations
May 31, 2026
Indian Missions complete the main selection round
Jun 15, 2026
Missions fill any remaining places
Jun 30, 2026
Selected students join their courses
2026-06 to 2026-08