India offers over 150 scholarships

INDONESIA: India is offering over 150 scholarships to Indonesians every year to study at India's top educational institutions, an Indian Embassy official said.

"India has awarded over 150 scholarships to Indonesian students in 2004. We will award these scholarships every year in the spirit of South-South Cooperation," Kaisar Alam, the second secretary at the embassy, told The Jakarta Post on Friday during a reception hosted by Indian Ambassador to Indonesia H.K. Singh.

The reception, mostly attended by Indonesian alumni who studied in India, was organized in connection with the celebration of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and Foreign Students' Day.

"So far, more than 1,000 Indonesian students, experts and officials have either studied or undergone training in India's premier educational institutions," Alam, who deals with matters relating to information, education and culture at the embassy, said.

Most of the scholarships are available to study information technology (IT) in India. Indonesians can also join courses in irrigation, auditing and accounting, urban development, management, diplomacy, journalism, agriculture and remote sensing. -- JP