MUMBAI: Amid a Trump administration-led funding freeze on international scholarships, recently opened Nehru-Fulbright Master’s Fellowship, a funding programme to study in the US, has decided to close gates on Indian govt officials for the two-year scholarship for the 2026-2027 cohort.
Policy administration as a field of study, a popular choice picked by those from various Indian services, has been done away with entirely. Each year, Indian govt officers make up between 30 per cent-40 per cent of the applicants picked by the United States-India Education Foundation.
“Employees of the Government of India and Indian State Governments are not eligible for any Fulbright-Nehru Fellowships. This includes civil servants in central services (such as IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, and allied services), state govt services (including state civil services), and bureaucratic staff employed in central and state ministries or departments,” this year’s application said.
MEA sources said they were not aware of why the decision was taken.