More than 300 scholarships were awarded by France government for the Indian students. Charpakprogram, named after the Nobel Prize winning French Physicist, Georges Charpak, seeks to enhance the educational and cultural ties among India and France. These scholarships for Indian students is applicable for the master’s degrees, student exchange programs and research internships in France.

Speaking about the scholarship program, Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, France, said, “I’m happy to say that ­Indo-French relations in the field of higher education have never been stronger. Today, nearly 500 agreements bind Indian and French institutions of higher learning.”

When there is a growing demand to think out-of-the-box and transcend the existing academic qualification, these kind of scholarships will definitely empower students with the necessary skills that are globally accepted and trending. The winner is the one who strikes a balance between what she/he learns from the textbook and what she/he applies in her/his field.

Being run by the French Embassy, theCharpak scholarship program generally offers three types of funding: the research internship program, the exchange program and the Master’s program. The internship program is purely reserved for students in the bachelor or master’s degree in the subjects like economics, engineering and science.

They are entitled to spend their academic break (May to July). The exchange program is designed to allow students to spend one to four months as an exchange student which should definitely cover an academic semester. On the other hand, Master’s program allows students to pursue their studies for a period of one to two years in France.

The scholarship program offers benefits such as free student visa, CEF (Centre for Studies in France) fee waiver, a monthly stipend of 615 Euros for a period of 10 months, and medical insurance that covers another 300 Euros per year. Besides these benefits, French government facilitates affordable student accommodation, and full tuition waiver if admitted to a public university.

The students desirous of this scholarship program need to be an Indian national and residing in India. She/he must be a student studying in an Indian Institution for higher studies. If a student is a young professional employed in a company for a maximum period of three years, then she/he is also eligible to apply for the scholarship. Candidates interested in master’s program need to look out for an Indian institution that has a tie-up with a French institution, where she/he desires to pursue the studies.

Though French language skill is not essential or mandatory, but will be given weightage. The other parameters for selection include a good academic record, and a very qualitative and original statement of purpose. The institutions in India that have a tie-up with institutions in France are National Law University in Delhi, West-Bengal University of Juridical Science in Kolkata, National Law School of India University in Bengaluru, Pondicherry University, The Design Village in Noida, JamiaMilliaIslamia in Delhi, Embassy of France to India, Jadavpur University in Kolkata, RoquetteRiddhi-Siddhi in Gujarat, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi.

For more information, candidates can click here.