Study Abroad Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students (Videsh Adhyayan Chhatravritti)

What is the Study Abroad Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students?

Study Abroad Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students. The Videsh Adhyayan Chhatravritti Yojana of the Tribal Affairs Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh; funds overseas higher study for Scheduled Tribe students of the state. The scheme dates to 2003 and is one of the largest per-student benefits any Indian state offers to a single scholar.

The design is straightforward. A Scheduled Tribe graduate from Madhya Pradesh finds their own admission to a recognised foreign university for a master's degree, a PhD or a research programme. The state then pays the tuition directly to that university and gives the student a living allowance and a contingency allowance to cover the cost of being abroad. The student is not asked to bridge the gap with a loan.

According to the department's scheme detail published on the Madhya Pradesh CM Helpline entitlement portal, the financial package covers tuition of up to USD 40,000 a year, a living allowance of USD 9,000 a year and a contingency allowance of USD 1,000 a year, along with cover for visa fees, insurance, air fare and local transport. The department has publicised the award of around 50 scholarships a year.

Key features

• Run by the Tribal Affairs Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh, since 2003.
• Tuition paid directly to the foreign university; allowances paid into the student's own bank account.
• Covers postgraduate study, PhD and research, not undergraduate study.
• No application fee.
• The student chooses the institution and the country; the department does not place students.

Who is eligible for the study abroad scholarship?

A candidate qualifies if:

• The candidate belongs to a Scheduled Tribe notified for Madhya Pradesh and holds a valid ST caste certificate.
• The candidate is a permanent resident of Madhya Pradesh.
• The candidate is not more than 35 years of age, reckoned as on 1 January of the application year. Published district material also states a lower bound of 18 years.
• Total family income from all sources does not exceed Rs 10 lakh a year.
• For a postgraduate course, the candidate holds a bachelor's degree with at least 55 percent marks (second class).
• For a PhD, the candidate holds a master's degree with at least 50 percent marks, together with the research or teaching experience the advertisement specifies, such as two years of experience or an MPhil.
• The candidate has secured admission to a recognised foreign institution.
• Only one child of a family is claiming the scholarship, and the candidate has not already drawn it for the same level of degree.

The following cannot apply:

• Non-Scheduled-Tribe candidates. The Scheduled Caste Welfare Department runs a separate route for SC students; this one is exclusively for ST students.
• Candidates who are not permanent residents of Madhya Pradesh.
• Candidates over 35 years of age as on 1 January of the application year.
• Families with total annual income above Rs 10 lakh from all sources combined.
• Candidates below the marks threshold; under 55 percent in the bachelor's degree for a postgraduate course, or under 50 percent in the master's for a PhD.
• Students going abroad for an undergraduate degree, a diploma, or a short certificate course. The scheme covers PG, PhD and research only.
• A second child of the same family, and a candidate who has already used the scholarship at that degree level.

What does the scholarship actually pay?

The duration of support is limited by course type. The department's scheme entry records up to 2 years for a postgraduate course, up to 4 years for a PhD and up to 1.5 years for research work. Support does not continue beyond the sanctioned duration even if the student's programme runs longer, so a candidate applying for a long doctoral programme should budget for that.

Because the amounts are stated in US dollars, the rupee value of the award changes with the exchange rate. At an exchange rate around Rs 85 to the dollar, a full-cost year of tuition and allowances is worth well over Rs 40 lakh, which is what makes this one of the highest-value individual scholarships in the state's portfolio and also why the selection is competitive.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the study abroad scholarship

1. Secure your own admission. Apply to recognised foreign universities for a master's, PhD or research programme and obtain a written admission or offer letter. The department will not consider an application without one.
2. Watch for the annual advertisement. The Tribal Affairs Department invites applications once a year on tribal.mp.gov.in and in the state press. For the 2025 cycle the application window fell in the first half of April, with document verification completed by the end of that month.
3. Assemble the document set listed above — caste certificate, residence proof, income certificate, degree marksheets, age proof, medical certificate, passport, admission letter and bank passbook, and get each attested as the advertisement requires.
4. Fill the prescribed application form issued with the advertisement, stating the institution, country, course, duration and the full fee structure quoted by the university.
5. Submit the application with all enclosures to the Commissioner, Tribal Affairs Department, Headquarters, Bhopal, by the closing date. The district website of the department states plainly that the application goes to the Commissioner at Bhopal.
6. Attend document verification and any interview the selection committee calls, with all originals.
7. On selection, complete the sanction formalities, submit the university's invoice for direct fee transfer, the visa, insurance and travel details, and the bank account details for the allowances.

How to check the status of an application

There is no self-service status tracker published for this scholarship. The practical route is:

1. Keep the receipt or diary number given when the application is submitted at the Commissionerate.
2. Follow up with the scholarship section of the Tribal Affairs Department Commissionerate, Bhopal, quoting that number.
3. Check tribal.mp.gov.in for the selection list, which the department publishes after the committee meets.
4. Register a complaint on the CM Helpline, 181 if a properly submitted application receives no response after the published verification date.

Common reasons an application fails

• Applying without an admission letter, hoping to secure admission later.
• Income above Rs 10 lakh, or an income certificate that covers only one earning member rather than total family income from all sources.
• Age above 35 years on the reckoning date of 1 January.
• Marks below the threshold in the qualifying degree.
• A second sibling applying when the family has already had one child sanctioned.
• Undergraduate or diploma courses, which the scheme does not fund.
• Incomplete document set submitted after the closing date, which is treated as a rejection rather than a defect to be cured.

Key dates and grievance route

The scheme runs on an annual cycle keyed to the northern-hemisphere academic calendar, so applications are called early in the calendar year and selections are finalised before the autumn intake. The 2025 cycle opened in the first half of April with verification through the end of April; candidates should treat that as indicative and confirm the current year's dates from the advertisement on tribal.mp.gov.in rather than from any secondary site.

Grievances go to the Commissioner, Tribal Affairs Department, Headquarters, Bhopal, which is the sanctioning authority named in the scheme's own entry. The CM Helpline on 181 can be used to register a formal complaint with a tracking number. Because this is a small, high-value, competitive scheme, keep copies of everything submitted, the department's file is the only record and a candidate who cannot produce a receipt has little to escalate with.