The government of India for the first time offered 20 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree for 20 students in Afghanistan at the request of the Afghan government.

” From this year, for the first time, at the request of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, 20 slots for pursuing PhD were offered,” an online statement by the Embassy India in Kabul said.

The statement further added that the Scheme is jointly implemented by Ministry of Higher Education, Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Embassy of India in Kabul and @Indian Council for Cultural Relation (ICCR), New Delhi. The ‪#‎ICCR‬ offers 1000 scholarships per annum to Afghan students, the largest scheme for any country run by ICCR.

“Out of total 998 candidates enrolled this year, 15 students enrolled for pursuing PhD programme (14 boys and one girl), while 211 students have been enrolled for Postgraduate studies (192 boys and 19 girls) and 772 students have been enrolled for undergraduate studies (682 boys and 90 girls),” the statement added.

The statement also added that 259 have been admitted in technical courses such as B.Tech, M.Tech, BE, ME, B.Sc.(IT), B.Sc.(Comp. Sc.) etc. Technical courses were a priority for Government of Afghanistan.

“The candidates from all 34 provinces availed ICCR Scholarship this year,” the statement said. “Some of the top performing provinces are: Kabul, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Parwan, Balkh, Badakhshan, Wardak and Herat.”

According to the Embassy of India in Kabul the universities most preferred by Afghan students are Bangalore, Punjab, Chittoor, Gujarat, Delhi, Goa and various National Institutes of Technology.

India has played a crucial role by participating in the rebuilding of Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

Since 2002, the Government of India has committed USD 2 billion dollars to the socio-economic rebuilding of the Afghan state and society in accordance with the development priorities of the Government and the people of Afghanistan.