Hyderabad: Amidst the perils of the second wave of Covid-19, in a bid to support aspiring public policy talent in the country, Kautilya School of Public policy has set aside about 30 percent of its cohort revenue as scholarships for their first incoming batch which commences in July 2021. 

In a bid to churn the best policy leaders of tomorrow, Kautilya has created a platform where policy education can be availed by students in the form of need-based scholarships. About 50% of the incoming students will receive scholarships in the brackets of 25 percent,50 percent, and 100 percent waiver of the total tuition fee for their post-graduate program in Public Policy. 

Among the students who have been awarded this category of scholarships, Mr. Pritish Anand has secured a 50 percent waiver off his fee while Mr. Mohammed Habeebullah, Mr. Waseem Ahmad, and recently a Kolkata student, Ratnadeep Chakraborty have secured a 100 percent waiver off their fee each. The selections were done based on their applications, interviews, and their essay submissions.  

“The values at Kautilya remain strong in providing a space where students across the country will be allowed to explore and learn the foundations of policies that can be applied in a practical method. We believe that finance must not be a deterrent in a student’s need to learn and become citizens that the country will be proud of. Our need-based scholarships created a window of an opportunity where students centered on their will to create a difference and academic record are welcomed to study and acquire a post-graduate qualification in Public Policy”, said Mr. Sridhar Pabbisetty, Founding Director of the institute.

Mr. Waseem Ahmad from Andhra Pradesh is a qualified undergraduate in electronics and communication engineering. Innovative thinking and social service towards development of the marginalised section is what Mr. Ahmad strives for and sees public policy as his next step to design inclusive policies promoting diversity and representation. Moving a step forward from providing food for migrant workers during these trying times, delving into geographical research on affected areas where the needy were most disturbed, he describes that contributing to robust policy making is the long-term answer to the country’s challenges.

Mr. Waseem Ahmad said, “The pandemic taught me the importance of social development in more ways than one. Migration of people, constant struggle of the under privileged and setting up temporary reliefs in the form of meals and ration kits led to realize what long term solutions can do for a country with a population of more than a billion people. My efforts towards this program will help me gain perspective in the methods necessary to build a country strong enough to provide for its people and weather trying times in a holistic manner.”

Mr. Mohammed Habeebullah, having completed his bachelor’s in business administration from GITAM and found policy making to be a source of transformational change in the country where the pandemic and its repercussions on people were observed across the world. In a field which requires a student to bring differences in tomorrow’s policies of the country, Mr. Habeebullah has found his way through academic clubs, NSS, debates and constant research on what the people of country now need.

“The people of the country deserve a constant upliftment in terms of what the government can provide for them, and policies are one of routes where glaring loopholes in distressful times can be question and tended to. Given this fact, policy making, and development of the country is what I am most passionate about. Changing me from an introvert to finding out what that who found it fascinating things research and social development can do, I believe that this scholarship will provide me the needed groundwork in creation of policies that are representative of every individual in India”, said Mr. Mohammed Habeebullah.

Kautilya School of Public Policy with its 2-year, full-time residential MPP, aims to bring together students from diverse disciplines and allow time to internalize and apply key concepts. The institute has opened admissions with an application submission deadline of 31 May 2021 and encourages students to be the changemakers who are passionate about shaping India for the better. 

Application link: https://apply.kautilya.org.in/ 

Brochure: https://kautilya.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/digital-brochure-2021.pdf