India will award 50 Quad scholarships worth ₹4 crore under a new initiative announced during the Quad Leaders’ Summit on Sunday. These scholarships will be awarded to students from the Indo-Pacific who want to pursue undergraduate engineering program.
“India is pleased to announce a new initiative to award fifty Quad scholarships, worth $500,000 [ ₹4,17,40,225], to students from the Indo-Pacific to pursue a 4-year undergraduate engineering program at a Government of India-funded technical institution,” stated the Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement released by the White House on Sunday.
PM Modi at Quad Summit
The announcement came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Quad Leaders’ Summit early Sunday (IST). He also took part in the Quad Cancer Moonshot event and held bilateral meetings with US President Biden, Japan’s Fumio Kishida and Australia’s Anthony Albanese.
During the two events, PM Modi made a slew of announcements. PM Modi said that the Quad is not against anyone, but for a rules-based international order and respect for sovereignty, in a veiled reference to China.
“Free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific is our priority,” Modi said in his opening remarks on Saturday at the summit hosted by President Joe Biden and also attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“We are not against anyone. We all support a rules-based international order, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of all issues,” PM Modi said, without naming any country.
The Prime Minister announced a $7.5 million support of sampling kits, detection kits and vaccines nations to fight cervical cancer. He also said India will cooperate in radiotherapy treatment and capacity building. India will also contribute 40 million vaccine doses for Indo-Pacific countries under GAVI and QUAD initiatives, he added.
The next Quad Leaders’ Summit will be hosted by India in 2025. “The Quad is here to stay,” the joint declaration said.
