22 Sri Lankan students from across the country have been awarded full scholarships by the Government of India to study Hindi in India. The students will undertake a nine-month diploma course at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (Central Institute of Hindi), Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Students from 26 countries, including Sri Lanka, were a part of this scholarship programme.
On August 29, 2023, High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay interacted with the students before their departure to India and highlighted the role of Hindi language and literature in strengthening the millennia-old cultural, linguistic, literary, and religious ties between India and Sri Lanka. He conveyed his best wishes for their stay in India.
Hindi, which is one of the most popular foreign languages in Sri Lanka, is being taught in almost 80 institutions, including renowned schools and universities in the country.
The cultural arm of the High Commission of India, Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, has been coordinating this scholarship since 2011. In the last 12 years, 160 students from Sri Lanka have been awarded this scholarship titled “Propagation of Hindi Abroad”. This year, the highest number of students have been selected from Sri Lanka.
