There is great news for candidates wishing to study at Oxford University. The Rhodes Scholarship Trust, which provides scholarships to study at Oxford University, plans to increase the number of scholarships for Indians from 2028 in line with the country's population. This information was given by the Trust's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sir Richard Trainor. Trainor, who came to India before the announcement of applications for the academic session starting next year, said that currently 6 scholarships are given to Indian candidates annually. He said, "Now the priority is to provide some additional scholarships to those places where the number of scholars can be more in proportion to the population and India is one of those countries. So, we have 6 scholarships per year for India, which is good. But as you know, there are one and a half billion people in this country, so there should be more scholarships."

The interim 'warden' of Rhodes House said, "We are trying to raise funds for additional scholarships, as the trust needs money in the fund to pay the fees of Oxford University and to pay the living expenses of the students." Other countries like China and Africa are also in priority to increase the number of scholarships. At present, scholarships are given to four candidates from China and 21 from Africa.

Who gets the scholarship?

Richard Trainer said, "We would like to include some additional scholars in these three fields by the 125th anniversary of the scholarship scheme, which is 2028. We are going to put a big emphasis on raising funds from now till the 125th anniversary." Trainer himself is a beneficiary of the Rhodes Scholarship in 1970. He said that people often tell about the change in their lives due to the Rhodes Scholarship. Rhodes Scholarship is given to those talented students who have to study for two to three years at Oxford University.

When was it established

Students of 18-23 years (up to 27 years in special circumstances) are eligible to apply. Rhodes Scholarship is one of the most prestigious and oldest scholarships given for undergraduate courses in the world. It was established in 1903 at Oxford University.

When is the last date to apply

The application process for next year's academic session started on June 3 and candidates can apply till July 23. Prominent Indian beneficiaries of this prestigious scholarship include economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia, author Girish Karnard, environmental law expert Lavanya Rajamani, political commentator and election analyst Mahesh Rangarajan and Olympian Ranjit Bhatia. (Input- PTI)