The Trustees of the JN Tata Endowment for the Higher Education of Indians have selected 108 candidates for the JN Tata scholarships for the academic year 2006-2007. The selected scholars will pursue postgraduate and doctoral studies as well as advanced research and training abroad. A total of nearly Rs 45 million will be disbursed by way of loan and gift scholarships and travel grants to these scholars.

This year the Endowment received 610 applications from students planning to pursue studies abroad in a wide range of fields. After screening, 353 candidates were short listed for the interview, of whom 108 were selected on merit for the JN Tata scholarship.

The pan-Indian nature of the scholarship is reflected in the distribution of the selected scholars over 15 different states of India. They cover a cross section of social backgrounds and age groups. The Endowment makes special efforts to bring information about the scholarship to mid-career professionals, to encourage them and give them an opportunity to go for further training and specialization after some years of work experience. Women candidates have competed in almost every field, and 46 of the 108 awardees this year are women.

The courses of study that the awardees will undertake cover more than 52 major fields of study in the areas of Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, Management Studies, Law, Commerce, Art & Architecture and Service Sector Studies.

Of the 108 scholars selected, 79 will be studying at American Universities and 20 scholars are planning to study in the UK. Of the remaining 9 scholars, 2 will be going to institutions in Canada, 2 to Singapore and one each to Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Several of the recommended scholars have obtained admission to institutions of world repute. These include the universities of Harvard, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell, and California at Berkeley in the USA. The institutions selected in the UK include the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Royal College of Art and the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and Glasgow. One scholar each will be studying Development Economics at the International Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands; Business Administration at the IESE Business School, University of Navara, Spain; and Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan.

From its inception in 1892 up to March 2006, over 3,900 meritorious scholars from across the country have been awarded the JN Tata Scholarship to pursue higher education at some of the best institutions in the world. While a rigorous process of selection ensures that only "the best and the most gifted" are selected, a continuous review of the changing needs of Indian society has brought within the Endowment's purview over 600 subjects and areas of specialization whose knowledge would empower the young to be "of the greatest service to the country". Through its 114 years, the endeavour has been to maintain a tradition of excellence.