F.No. 22-2/2023-ES.
4
Government of India
Ministry of Education
Department of Higher Education
External Scholarship Division
2024 COMMONWEALTH MASTER’S SCHOLARSHIP IN THE UNITED
KINGDOM
Online applications are invited for the ‘2024 COMMONWEALTH MASTER’S
SCHOLARSHIP TENABLE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM’ for pursuing full time
Master’s Degree Courses commencing from September/October 2024. The Scholarships are
offered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC), UK.
2. The Scholarship is broadly offered under six developmental themes:
Science and technology for development
Strengthening health systems and capacity
Promoting Global Prosperity
Strengthening global peace, security and governance
Strengthening resilience and response to crises
Access, inclusion and opportunity
3. The entire application process is ONLINE. Interested Candidates must submit their
applications on the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission’s Online Application System as
well as on the Ministry of Education’s SAKSHAT Portal.
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission’s Online Application System (OAS):
Link for OAS: https://fs29.formsite.com/m3nCYq/omxnv2g3ix/index. The OAS is active
from 05 September 2023 to 17 October 2023 (21:30 IST).
Ministry of Education portal (SAKSHAT Portal):
Link for online application: http://proposal.sakshat.ac.in/scholarship/. The portal would be
active from 25 September 2023 to 25 November 2023.
4. ELIGIBILTY:
(i) The applicant must be a Citizen of India.
(ii) The applicant must be a permanent resident of India.
(iii) The applicant must be available to start his/her academic studies in the UK by
the start of the UK academic year in September/October 2024.
(iv) By September 2023, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours
standard (in the Indian context, this means a minimum of 60% marks in graduation),
or a second-class degree (2:2) (in the Indian context, this means 50-59% marks in
graduation) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (a Master’s degree). The CSC
would not normally fund a second UK Master’s degree. If you are applying for a second
UK Master’s degree, you will need to provide justification as to why you wish to
undertake this study. MBA program is not covered under this scholarship.
(v) The applicant must not be able to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
(Candidates are compulsorily required to sign a declaration that they do not have access
to sufficient funds to study in the UK).
(vi) Candidates who were abroad for studies/training/specialization either on scholarships
or on their own, for a period exceeding six months are eligible to apply, if they have been
in India for at least two consecutive years as on 25 November 2023 after returning from
abroad.
(vii) Candidates must have an offer from admission from a UK University partnered with
the CSC for the September/October 2024 intake at the time of applying on the SAKSHAT
Portal to be considered for this scholarship. Candidates who have an offer of admission
for the September/October 2023 academic session OR the January/February 2024
academic session are also eligible to apply if they have decided to defer their admission to
the September/October 2024 academic session and the University has accepted their
request to defer (proof required). List of Universities partnered with the CSC may be seen
at: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/uk-universities/
5. 39 Nominations will be made to the CSC for the 2024 Commonwealth Master’s
Scholarship. Candidates are informed that nomination does not mean selection for the
scholarship. The decision to select students for this scholarship rests with the Commonwealth
Scholarship Commission. Deadline for submitting nominations is 12 December 2023. The
Ministry of Education does not have any role in selection of candidates by CSC.
6. NOMINATION CRITERIA:
A. Applicants who can provide proof of receiving confirmed offer of admission till 16.00
hrs of 25th November 2023 in any UK University listed at the CSC website
https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/uk-universities/ shall be considered for nomination.
B. Among the candidates satisfying criteria A above, points based on the following
parameters will be awarded to each candidate, which will be used for further
shortlisting for nomination from India.
(i) Candidates choosing the option to return to India after completion of the course and work
in India for at least 2 years: 4 points
(ii) Undecided/No: 0 points
Candidate is from a disadvantaged background or to promote diversity:
(i) ST/ SC/ NC-OBC/ PwD/ EWS: 4 points
(ii) Female/ Transgender: 2 points
(iii) Others: 0 points
EWS: Annual family income Rs. 4.5 lakhs or below, which is same as the income criteria for
the PM-USP Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University Students.
Academic merit of University from where offer of admission is secured:
(i) UK University QS Ranking 10 on below: 4 points
(ii) QS Ranking 11-20: 2 points
(iii) QS Ranking 21-50: 1 point
(iv) QS Ranking above 50: 0 points
Note: overall ranking / subject ranking as per latest ranking year will be considered
Nominations will be made in a theme-wise proportional basis.
7. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
Candidates who do not possess the eligibility criteria need not apply.
Canvassing in any form will be a disqualification.
It is very important that applicants who are in employment to which they wish to
return after completion of their studies in UK should have an assurance from their
organization that on the final selection by the CSC, they will be granted sufficient
leave to complete the study.
Candidates are requested to frequently visit the Ministry Website
https://www.education.gov.in/en/scholarships as all further announcements will be
uploaded there. Queries via e-mail may be directed to [email protected] or by telephone
at 011-26172492/26172896.
Candidates are advised to apply first on the CSC OAS and save a copy of their
submitted application in pdf as they would be required to upload this when applying
on the SAKSHAT Portal.
Anti Fraud Policy is enclosed at annexure for information.
8. IMPORTANT LINKS:
For more details please visit: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships/commonwealth-
masters-scholarships/
Link for CSC OAS: https://fs29.formsite.com/m3nCYq/omxnv2g3ix/index
Link for SAKSHAT Portal: http://proposal.sakshat.ac.in/scholarship/
CSC Anti-Fraud Policy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/csc-in-the-uk-
anti-fraud-policy-and-procedure
For any further information on this scholarship please visit
https://www.education.gov.in/scholarships
(Sangeet Kumar)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Dated the 14 September 2023
ANNEXURE-1
Anti-fraud Policy
Definition of fraud (in respect to the scholarship)
Use of deception to deprive, cause loss to another person or party; or secure unwarranted
personal gain.
Falsely claiming academic and other achievements, false documentation,
concealing/distorting information/ material whether it is in electronic form, signature,
photograph will be treated as fraud and action would be taken accordingly.
The Ministry of Education will investigate all the issues relating to fraud and will take
appropriate action which may include legal action.
In case of actual, attempted or suspected fraud one should report his/her concerns at the first
instance to the Deputy Secretary (Scholarships). There is also an online ‘Centralized Public
Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)’ where complaint can be made. The
link of the grievance portal is https://pgportal.gov.in.
