The Nehru Memorial Scholarship Scheme funds Sri Lankan nationals to take a full undergraduate degree at a university in India. It is one of the named schemes on India’s A2A scholarship portal, where the Ministry of External Affairs is recorded as the sponsoring agency and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations runs the process.
The 2026/27 call offered 50 awards under the scheme. Bachelor’s courses in engineering, science, business, economics, commerce, humanities and the arts are covered. Medical and paramedical courses, fashion design and law are not.
Selection is made by the Government of India together with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Higher Education, so applicants go through the ministry and the Indian Mission rather than direct to an Indian university. A separate ICCR-funded scheme of the same name covers postgraduate and doctoral study for the same country.
Benefits & funding
- Full tuition fees for the whole length of the course.
- A monthly sustenance allowance.
- An annual grant for books and stationery.
- Hostel accommodation inside the host university’s campus.
- Air fare to the nearest destination in India.
- An annual grant for educational tours to other parts of India.
- Three months of stipend is released in advance on arrival, and medical treatment for scholars follows CGHS rules.
Eligibility
- Open to Sri Lankan nationals. Sri Lanka is one of the nationalities selectable on the A2A portal.
- For undergraduate study. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Higher Education requires G.C.E. Ordinary Level and Advanced Level transcripts issued by the Department of Examinations, so applicants come out of school.
- Engineering, science, business, economics, commerce, humanities and arts courses qualify. Medical and paramedical courses, fashion design and law do not.
- Two recommendation letters from referees and a physical fitness certificate form part of the application.
- Applicants for the 2026/27 round had to be 18–40 years old on 16 March 2026.
- Admission itself is decided by the Indian university against its own entry rules. ICCR and the Indian Mission play no part in that decision.
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
High School
Age requirement
18–40 yrs
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Application process
- 1Watch for the annual notice. Once India informs Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Higher Education, the ministry publishes it on its website and in Sinhala, Tamil and English newspapers.
- 2Submit exactly one application through the ministry’s online portal at https://foreignscholarships.mohe.gov.lk before the closing date; do not send copies by post.
- 3If shortlisted on the basis of the Z score, attend the ministry’s structured interview when invited by email.
- 4If nominated, wait while the ministry forwards the nomination to the ICCR scholarship authority through the High Commission of India; nomination does not confirm an award.
- 5Register on the A2A portal under Student’s registration and file the online application for the academic year. The Government of India and the ministry make the selection together.
- 6Once selected, wait for the Indian university to confirm admission against its own criteria, then complete visa and travel steps.
Program timeline
3 March 2026
the High Commission of India announced 200 fully funded scholarships for 2026-27 across four schemes.
16 March 2026
the 2026/27 round closed.
Within about a month of the closing date
interviews at Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Higher Education.
31 May 2026
last date for AYUSH applications on the A2A portal. Every other scheme, this one included, shows as closed for 2026-27.
Early 2027 (expected)
the 2027/28 notice, following the 2026/27 pattern.