§ Mrs. ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people applied for places on the Indian FCO scholarship programme in 1991–92 and 1992–93; how many have been awarded places; and whether he has plans to extend the scheme.
§ Mr. Garel-JonesA total of 152 FCO scholarships—39 new awards, 113 continuing awards—were made to Indian students in 1991–92. For 1992–93 the figure is 189–56 new awards and 133 continuing awards.
Figures for the total number of applicants for FCO scholarships are not available since a large proportion of FCO scholarships are jointly funded with United Kingdom academic institutions to whom all applicants apply direct; and a large number of FCO scholarships are made from a pool of candidates applying for awards under other official, non-FCO, award schemes.
There are no plans to increase the current provision of resources for FCO scholarships for Indian students, which, at £1,163,000 for 1991–92, already represents nearly 6 per cent. of the global budget of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office scholarships and awards scheme.