Study in India Programme (SII) Scholarship

Financial support under SII comes in two forms. The Study in India Scholarship, valued at roughly USD 3,200, is awarded to top-performing applicants based on their score in the PRAGATI entrance/merit assessment used by the programme, and is intended to offset living costs. Separately, and more broadly, partner institutes offer their own tuition fee waivers ranging from 25% to 100% of tuition, awarded competitively based on the applicant's academic merit and the preferences they select, with the programme stating that more than half of admitted SII students receive some level of fee waiver.

SII covers the full spread of study levels, from undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to diploma and certificate programmes, across virtually all fields offered by its partner institutions, including engineering, management, sciences, humanities, and more. Students are responsible for their own living costs, which the programme estimates at roughly USD 400 per month for accommodation, food, transport, and personal expenses, and tuition fees vary significantly by institute and course even after any waiver is applied.

One important distinction: while the SII platform is open to international applicants from any country, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can also register and apply through the programme, but NRIs are explicitly excluded from receiving the Study in India Scholarship and the institute-driven fee waivers - those forms of funding are reserved for genuinely foreign (non-NRI) applicants. English proficiency (IELTS, TOEFL, or an institute's own English test) and, where relevant to the course, standardised test scores such as GRE or GMAT are required as part of the application profile.