US Sikh body gives `1.2-cr scholarships to Punjabi students
Friday, 20/11/2015
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WASHINGTON: A US-based Sikh body has given scholarships worth USD 2 lakh (`1.2 crore) to poor students in Punjab to improve their access to higher education, according to a media report.
Sikh Human Development Foundation (SHDF), which is based in Washington, said the scholarship had been given to 583 needy students in Punjab this year.
SHDF financially assists meritorious and needy students in Punjab and other northern Indian states. “Over the years, the organisation has awarded a total of 4,001 scholarships,” said Gajinder Singh Ahuja, chairman of SHDF.
Jaspreet Kaur Ahuja, secretary general of SHDF, said 68% of the recipients belonged to rural areas of Punjab and adjoining areas. Maintaining the past trends, female students represented 74% of the total recipients.
Among the awardees, 32% are pursuing medical and nursing, 33% engineering, 23% management-related, 5% IT and 7% other professional courses.
Rajwant Singh, outreach director of SHDF, said the scholarships are awarded on need and merit basis. All students come from families earning less than USD 190 (`12,000) a month and many with income less than USD 1(`60) a day.
