Andhra Pradesh Issues New Guidelines for Study Abroad Aspirants

The Andhra Pradesh government has announced a fresh set of guidelines for the Jagananna Videshi Vidya Deevena scheme to help students pursue higher education overseas. This set of guidelines would favour students from economically weaker sections and put more emphasis on merit-based selection. Students whose parents’ annual income is below Rs 8 lakh are eligible to avail of the Videshi Vidya Deevena scheme, provided they are below the age of 35.  

As per the new guidelines, financial assistance would be granted to the students who get admission into the first 200 universities as per QS World University Rankings. Students securing seats in the first 100 universities will receive a total fee reimbursement. While students confirming seats in the universities ranked between 100 to 200 would receive a reimbursement of up to Rs 50 lakhs. 

The distribution of the reimbursement amount in students’ bank accounts will occur in four instalments. The first instalment would be released to the students holding either a landing permit or an I-94 card. The second instalment would be paid after receiving the first semester results. Similarly, the third instalment would be released post-declaration of second-semester results and the fourth instalment post-declaration of either the fourth or the final semester results.

Moreover, students pursuing PhD. and MBBS courses would be awarded a free reimbursement for their entire course duration. This reimbursement would either be awarded annually or semester-wise. However, the scheme applies to the native students of the state, and only one student from a family would be eligible. 

The notifications to identify eligible students to pursue foreign education would be issued twice a year between September and December and January and May. Compared to the previous foreign education scheme that only covered the universities of limited nations, this scheme applies to the top 200 universities as per QS World Rankings.