Nationals urged to take advantage of scholarships offered by Indian government

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Nationals of Antigua and Barbuda are being urged to take advantage of some fully-funded educational opportunities being offered by the Indian government, to broaden their skills and position themselves better in the modern job market.

This call comes from the Indian High Commissioner to the twin island nation, Dr KJ Srinivasa, who has revealed that more than a dozen scholarships in a wide range of areas are now available for locals to study in India.

Back in 2019 – when scholarships were similarly offered through the Indian government’s I-Tech programme – Dr Srinivasa, who had just taken up his role at the time, voiced disappointment with the low level of interest shown.

He is hoping more people will make use of the support this time, and declared that they are even willing to offer more scholarships than those currently on the table, if they receive the requisite interest.

“We are working very actively with Antigua and Barbuda especially in the space of capacity building and skills building … so we are offering 16 scholarships to Antigua and Barbuda.

“These are scholarships in a wide variety of fields – from IT, to management, to HR, anything you need. There are 1,200 courses so these are all in India, fully funded by the government of India.

“We would be sending these details to the foreign ministry and the Prime Minister’s office. I would urge all Antiguans and Barbudans to make use of this to improve their skills and if we need more, we are willing to provide more scholarships,” Dr Srinivasa explained.

The High Commissioner spoke too on additional support his government is providing to Antigua and Barbuda, in climate resilience and information technology.

“Apart from that we are working on a project for about US$10 million dollars with the government of Antigua and Barbuda – a concessional line of credit for solar energy projects.

“We are also providing, through the International Solar Alliance, funding of over $50,000 each for small solar projects which will light up hospitals or schools or something like that and we are working actively to see if we can work on IT.

“In fact, at the Five Islands Campus for UWI, I am working on an MOU right now with their Institute of Technology which is one of the top most institutes in the world to work on artificial intelligence, robotics and information technology courses.

“So, I think that will make the people well qualified while stepping into the world and take up the important posts,” he added.

Dr Srinivasa was speaking on state media on Tuesday, following the Independence ceremonial parade and national awards ceremonies at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.

Those activities kicked off the final day of this year’s Independence calendar of events, in celebration of the country’s 41st anniversary of political independence.

The High Commissioner applauded the festivities he witnessed in person for the first time in three years, and the country’s resurgence from the challenges faced during that time. 

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