Indian students, with 63 scholarships, were the second largest beneficiary of the EU-funded Erasmus Mundus Programme, to take a Joint Masters degree in Europe, a statement said.
A total of 1,345 students from all over the world have been awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship in 2017, with students from Brazil, India and Iran the top beneficiaries, a statement from the European Union said.
The grants will cover all the costs of their study, most of them lasting two years. Around 5,000 Indian students from all parts of India have already received Erasmus Mundus Masters scholarships between 2004 and 2016, making India the single largest beneficiary of the Programme.
The awardees for 2017 were selected from nearly 24,000 applicants. 25 per cent of scholarships go to students from the EU and five other countries that have signed up and pay to take part in the Erasmus programme, with the other 75 per cent going to students in partner countries. Students from over 120 countries will benefit from the EU-funded scholarships.
Leading the ranking of sending countries is Brazil, with 79 scholarships, followed by India (63), Iran (59), Bangladesh (58) and Mexico (49). The US, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Philippines and Ukraine also figure prominently.
Currently, there are 100 Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters degree programmes on offer, involving 513 institutions. Each programme is offered by a consortium of at least three higher education institutions, though most are larger, and participants study in at least two of the organising institutions.