New Delhi, Feb 20 : In an effort to break down the barriers of financial constraints that often hinder promising students from economically disadvantaged households, Max Healthcare Foundation (MHF) has introduced the 'Max Medical Scholarship Programme'.

The Max Medical Scholarship Programme is part of Max Healthcare Foundation's corporate social responsibility programme that aims to encourage and support the aspirations of next generation medical professionals.

The scholarship will fully fund the medical education of 100 students from economically weaker sections (EWS) every year, who have cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and gained admission to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme in the eight government medical colleges in Delhi for the academic year 2023-24.

The registrations for this scholarship opened from Tuesday. The scholarship marks one of the largest-ever annual scholarship grants for medical education in India.

Speaking on the announcement, Taruna Soi, Chairperson, Max Healthcare Foundation, said, 'Financial constraints can often exclude meritorious students from economically disadvantaged communities to drop out before completing their education. To empower such students, we are proud to announce Max Medical Scholarship Programme, which will fully fund medical education of 100 such meritorious students.

"Rooted in our core values of care and compassion, this corporate social responsibility initiative aims to empower the next generation of medical professionals. Together, we nurture talent, break down barriers and forge a brighter, more inclusive future in healthcare."

The applications will be open for a 15-day window following the programme's announcement. This will be followed by multiple stages, including application review and shortlisting, interviews of shortlisted applicants and final selection basis submission of mandatory documents.

The selection process for these 100 scholars is based on a rigorous evaluation criteria that will be assessed by a jury from the Max Healthcare Foundation.

The selected students will be granted a comprehensive financial assistance in the first year for the duration of their five-year MBBS course. This will cover re-imbursement of tuition fees, a personal laptop, books and tools like bone set, dissection kit, stethoscope and an allowance for monthly expenses, etc.

From the second year onwards, the scholarship will continue to cover the tuition fees and allowance for monthly expenses for each of the 100 students, till the end of the five-year MBBS course.

The scholarship is contingent on the selected students signing up for regular, periodic reviews and assessments that will guide their participation. The initiative intends to support the academic expenses of the students throughout their educational journey. Every year, 100 scholarships will be granted to the eligible beneficiaries.

The applications are open for 15 days until March 6. Max Healthcare's social media handles will also share timely updates on the programme.

The selection process will have a detailed assessment and validation of various socio-economic criteria and NEET rRank, to arrive at the list of 100 students.

/IANS