UK announces Chevening Scholarships for Jharkhand's marginalised communities

Marginalised and under-represented communities from Jharkhand will now have a chance to avail fully funded higher education in the United Kingdom (UK). 

Further investing in education, the UK government on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Jharkhand to create a new scholarship programme for
the said communities from the state. The Chevening Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda (MGJSM) Scholarship will offer up to five scholars from Jharkhand full financial support to pursue a one-year master’s in the UK. The Chevening MGJSM Scholarships will be offered annually from 2023.

The MoU was signed in Ranchi by Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, in the presence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, during a two-day visit to the state. 

“An education in another country can be a defining experience. Each year five brilliant scholars from the state will have the opportunity to study at the UK’s world leading universities with full financial support,” Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said.

The UK government also launched the Jharkhand module of the Climate Resilience Information System and Planning (CRISP-M) tool. The CRISP-M tool is a web and mobile phone based geographic information system that will support the planning, implementation and monitoring of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme. It was developed as part of the UK Government’s Infrastructure for Climate Resilient Growth programme in India.
 
The Jharkhand module of the CRISP-M tool will effectively help integrate climate risk management into planning and design of social protection; inform early action on drought management with the Jharkhand Drought Early Warning System, and help build resilience of households that are vulnerable to climate change.

The CRISP-M tool was co-developed by the International Institute for Environment and Development with Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Meteorological Department, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, and Ministry of Rural Development. The CRISP-M tool was launched in October 2021 by India’s Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, United Nations and the Commonwealth
 
During his visit, Ellis also participated in a business roundtable and met a host of business leaders to explore opportunities to boost trade and investment linkages between the UK and the state of Jharkhand.