The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme that offers fellowships and scholarships to candidates of other developing Commonwealth countries. United Kingdom (UK) is the biggest contributor to the programme, which is managed by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. The CFSP encourages students who aspire to study in UK for higher education in various academic, professional, Master’s and doctoral programmes.

In India, the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission, the British Council, Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the Government of India jointly manage the plan.

Each scholarship covers the following:

• Student concessionary or economy airfare to the UK and return on expiry of the Scholarship.
• Tuition and examination fees.
• A personal maintenance allowance of £977 per month (£1,208 per month if you are studying at institutions in the London Metropolitan area).
• A grant for expenses involved in approved travel within the UK or overseas, for preparing a thesis or dissertation and fieldwork costs (that includes one economy class return airfare to the fieldwork location, if field study is outside the UK) for your doctoral studies.
• An initial arrival allowance.
• A paid mid-term fare to India if you are working on a three-year doctoral award. This is not applicable to those who undertake field study back home in India (for which fieldwork fares are provided) and for those who have claimed spouse or child allowances for more than 12 months during the award term.
• The Commission will pay a spouse allowance of £ 220 per month if your award exceeds 18 months and if your spouse resides at the same address as yours in the UK. The Commission also provides child allowance of £138 per month for the first child and £108 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16 if the children are living with their parents.