Kathmandu, Mar. 22: The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu celebrated 23rd Golden Jubilee Scholarship Day at the Embassy premise on Saturday, with the participation of nearly 200 scholarship recipients.

The event was attended by top academic leaders, including Dr. Dev Raj Adhikari, Chairman, University Grants Commission, Nepal; Dr. Achyut Wagle, Vice Chancellor, Kathmandu University; Dr. Amar Prasad Yadav, Vice Chancellor, Rajarshi Janak University; Dr. Biju Kumar Thapalia, Vice Chancellor, Purbanchal University; Dr. Dhruba Kumar Gautam, Vice Chancellor, Mid-Western University; Dr. Gyanendra Giri, Vice Chancellor, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences; and Dr. Sharada Thapaliya, Vice Chancellor, Agriculture and Forestry University. Deans and principals of various institutions also attended the program, according to the press release issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Ambassador of India to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, awarded the Ambassador's Golden Jubilee Scholarship Roll of Honour to meritorious scholars of the second batch. He congratulated the recipients of the 23rd Batch of Golden Jubilee Scholarships and encouraged them to strive for excellence in their respective fields, highlighting opportunities in India's startup ecosystem, incubation centers, and collaborative initiative.

Established in 2002, the Golden Jubilee Scholarship commemorates 50 years of India-Nepal economic cooperation. The program now supports 200 students annually, benefiting over 3,500 Nepali students from all 77 districts. The current batch includes students from 75 districts, with one-third being girls and three differently-abled scholars, the release further stated.

India provides approximately 1,500 scholarships to Nepali students each year across fields such as engineering, medicine, dental science, management, commerce, nursing, ayurveda, dance, theatre, and performing arts. These scholarships enable students to study in India and Nepal, covering undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programs. Since 2001, nearly 40,000 Nepali students have benefited from India's scholarship programs, the Embassy noted.

Educational cooperation, capacity-building, and academic partnerships between India and Nepal continue to deepen the enduring friendship of the two countries, fostering new connections and strengthening people-to-people ties. Scholarships and capacity building programme initiatives form an integral part of India's endeavour to partner in the human resource development of Nepal for progress, knowledge and shared prosperity, the Embassy added.