Explore Scholarships

The schemes above look alike on a card, but they are built for very different students. Before reading any single page in detail, narrow the list with four questions. Most students find that only one or two schemes genuinely fit, and knowing that early saves weeks of collecting documents for awards they could never receive.

1. Where do you want to study? ICCR, COMPEX, Study in India, the SAARC hotel management scheme and HJBSS place students in Indian institutions. MGSS and GJSS work the other way round: they support Nepalese students who are studying in Nepal.
2. What level are you applying for? MGSS begins at Class 11, COMPEX, SAARC and GJSS are undergraduate routes, HJBSS is for a master's degree in engineering, and ICCR and Study in India cover more than one level.
3. What is your citizenship? COMPEX, MGSS, GJSS, SAARC and HJBSS are run by the Embassy of India in Kathmandu for Nepalese citizens. ICCR and Study in India accept students from many eligible countries.
4. Do you already have final results? COMPEX accepts candidates who are still appearing in Class 12, while ICCR, SAARC and HJBSS expect final mark sheets when you apply.

Tip: If two schemes seem to fit, read both official notices before you start. Some, such as MGSS and GJSS, are open only to students who are not already receiving another scholarship.

These one-paragraph summaries are our own, written to make comparison easier. Open the matching card above for the full eligibility rules, the document checklist and the application steps for the current cycle.

• ICCR Scholarship: a fully funded award for international students at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. You apply on the A2A portal, rank up to five universities and then hand your documents to the Indian Embassy in your country. There is usually no common entrance test; your academic record and your choice of universities carry the weight.
• COMPEX: the Embassy of India, Kathmandu's exam-based route for Nepalese school leavers into engineering, pharmacy, nursing, agriculture and food technology degrees in India. A computer-based test in Kathmandu decides who moves forward, and you need a Study in India ID before you can apply.
• Study in India (SII): a Government of India admissions programme rather than a single scholarship. You may apply to as many institutes as you like, and any tuition waiver depends on the institute and your merit. Living costs are usually your own responsibility.
• Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship Scheme (MGSS): yearly financial help for Nepalese students in Class 11 and 12 at schools in Nepal, with a minimum Class 10 score and a family income ceiling.
• Golden Jubilee Scholarship Scheme (GJSS): yearly support for Nepalese students in the first year of a bachelor's degree in Nepal, with a higher marks requirement than MGSS and the same income ceiling.
• SAARC Hospitality and Hotel Management: a route for Nepalese Class 12 graduates into a B.Sc. in Hospitality and Hotel Management at Institutes of Hotel Management in India. The application is submitted on paper, in three complete sets.
• Dr. Homi J. Bhabha Scholarship Scheme (HJBSS): a route for Nepalese engineering graduates into M.E. or M.Tech. programmes in India, also submitted on paper with notarised documents.

Every scheme sets its own rules, yet the same few conditions appear again and again. Checking yourself against them first is the quickest way to rule a scheme in or out before you spend time on paperwork.

• Citizenship: Embassy of India, Kathmandu schemes are for Nepalese citizens, while ICCR and SII ask for citizenship of an eligible country.
• Minimum marks: thresholds are usually aggregate percentages, sometimes with a separate floor for English or for the science subjects. If your board reports grades, you need an official conversion rather than your own estimate.
• English: several schemes ask for a minimum English mark in Class 12, or for a letter confirming that English was a subject in your studies.
• Age: limits are measured on a fixed reference date printed in the notice, not on the day you apply, so work out your age on that date.
• Result status: some schemes accept candidates awaiting results, others accept only final mark sheets.
• Other awards and income: MGSS and GJSS exclude students who already hold another scholarship and set a family income limit that must be backed by a certificate from a government office.

Tip: Meeting the minimum lets you apply; it does not decide the outcome. Treat every published threshold as the floor, not the target.

Dates change every year and are sometimes extended after a portal opens, so we do not publish fixed calendars on this page. What stays fairly stable is the order in which things happen. Knowing that order lets you start the slow tasks, such as translations and letters from your school, before the notice even appears.

1. Notice: the Embassy, ICCR or the SII portal announces the scheme for the coming academic session, with eligibility rules, any fee and the last date.
2. Preparation: you gather mark sheets, citizenship or passport copies, translations, photographs and any letters your school or college must issue.
3. Application: you register and complete the online form, or download and fill in the paper form for schemes that are still submitted by hand.
4. Fee and documents: where a fee applies, you pay it exactly as the notice describes and submit the receipt, together with any hard copies the scheme asks for.
5. Assessment: depending on the scheme, this is a computer-based test, a review of your academic record, or decisions by the institutes you selected.
6. Results and nomination: selected candidates are informed, usually by email or through a notice on the official website.
7. Admission and travel: the institute confirms your place, and for study in India you then deal with travel documents, joining formalities and any registration required after arrival.

Tip: As soon as a notice is published, copy its dates into your own calendar and set a personal deadline a few days before the official one. Portals slow down near the last date.

The Embassy of India's notices for COMPEX, MGSS, GJSS, SAARC and HJBSS say that applications routed through consultants, agents or middlemen are not recognised and are liable to be rejected. Nobody can sell you a guaranteed place. Fees are paid only in the way the notice describes, for some schemes at a Nepal SBI Bank branch in favour of the Embassy's Education Wing, and never into a private person's account.

Each scholarship page on this site names the official portal or website for that scheme. Use those addresses, keep your login details to yourself, and check the official notice before acting on anything you read elsewhere, including here. We are an independent guidance site, not a government office.

Every card above opens a page with the eligibility rules, the document checklist, the application steps and the mistakes we see most often, followed by our own notes on how selection works. Most schemes also have a separate FAQ page for the narrower questions students ask us.

For the stages that cut across schemes, such as scanning documents, choosing universities or what happens after selection, the guides below go into more depth than a scholarship summary can.