The SAARC Chair, Fellowship and Scholarship Scheme was instituted in 1987 with the aim of providing increased cross-fertilization of ideas through greater interaction among students, scholars and academics in the SAARC countries. The Standing Committee at its Twenty-seventh Session while recognizing the importance of the Scheme for Member States decided to hold a workshop in Nepal to recommend means of more effective implementation of the Scheme.
Pursuant to the above decision, the second meeting of the Technical Committee on Human Resources Development (Colombo, November 2002) considered the recommendations on operational modalities of the SAARC Chairs, Fellowships and Scholarships Scheme as proposed by the Workshop held in Kathmandu on 22-23 October 2002. After approval by the Standing Committee, the revised Scheme has become fully operational.
The Third Meeting of the Committee of Heads of University Grants Commission/Equivalent Bodies held Colombo in January 2007 considered matters relating to SAARC Chairs, Fellowships and Scholarships Scheme and underscored the importance of implementing the Scheme more effectively and expressed the view that the Scheme is instrumental in promoting increased cross-fertilization of ideas through interaction among students, scholars and academics in the Member States as envisaged in the SAARC Social Charter.
In the recent past, the Governments of India and Bangladesh have offered scholarships, i.e. in the academic years 2008 – 2009 – 2010 – 2011. The scholarships have been offered in the following manner:
ii. India: Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships in the fields of biosciences, social sciences, architecture, languages and commerce and business administration, etc
