If You Are Searching For The Anita Borg Scholarship, You Will Not Find It#
A practical note before the list, because it wastes people's time every year.
Google's Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship is now the Generation Google Scholarship. The programme was renamed, its scope broadened to support underrepresented students in computer science more generally, and the original name persists across older articles, college noticeboards and search results long after the change.
Students searching for the old name find outdated pages with dead application links and conclude the programme has ended. It has not. It is running under a different name, honouring the same vision of gender equality in technology that Dr Anita Borg advanced.
This is a small example of a larger pattern in this category. Scholarships for women in science and technology are among the most under-applied in India, and one substantial reason is simply that the information circulating about them is stale. Here is what is actually open.
Background: Why This Funding Exists And Who Provides It#
Three distinct sources fund women in STEM in India.
Government schemes, including AICTE's Pragati scholarship for girls in technical education and various central and state provisions.
Corporate and foundation programmes, funded by technology and consumer companies with an interest in widening participation, frequently through corporate social responsibility commitments.
International programmes, funding study abroad or research, sometimes specifically for women and sometimes with a general remit where women are encouraged to apply.
Why they are under-applied. Partly stale information, as above. Partly because eligibility windows are narrow and specific, so a student who does not fit one assumes she fits none. And partly because the schemes are not centrally listed anywhere, unlike government schemes on the National Scholarship Portal.
Two terms worth defining:
Underrepresented in computing. The framing several technology-sector programmes now use, broader than gender alone, covering groups historically under-participating in the field.
Disbursement schedule. Whether an award is paid as a lump sum or in instalments across your degree. This matters for planning, since a multi-year instalment award requires you to remain eligible throughout.
What Is Actually Available#
| Scheme | Who it is for | What it provides | The condition that catches people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generation Google Scholarship, formerly Anita Borg Memorial | Students in computer science and related fields from underrepresented groups, including women | Financial award alongside community and development opportunities | Search under the current name. Applications, eligibility and regions covered vary by cycle, so check Google's own education pages |
| L'Oréal India For Young Women in Science | Female Indian citizens who have completed Class 12 and intend to pursue science | ₹2.5 lakh, disbursed in equal annual instalments across the degree | Strict eligibility: under 19 years of age, at least 85 per cent in Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology, and family income under ₹6 lakh |
| AICTE Pragati | Girl students in AICTE-approved technical diploma and degree programmes | ₹50,000 a year, all-inclusive | Family income ceiling of ₹8 lakh. Entry at first year or second year through lateral entry only. Up to two girls per family may apply |
| INSPIRE, including the SHE component | Students pursuing basic and natural sciences, with women well represented among recipients | ₹80,000 a year, comprising ₹60,000 scholarship and ₹20,000 for summer research | Selection runs through board and national examination performance rather than a separate aptitude test, since KVPY was subsumed into INSPIRE |
| International fully funded programmes | Women applying to Chevening, Fulbright-Nehru, DAAD, Erasmus Mundus and similar | Full tuition, living costs and travel in the strongest cases | Chevening requires two years of work experience and Fulbright-Nehru three, which excludes recent graduates. DAAD and Erasmus do not |
| Institutional and departmental awards | Varies by university | Varies, frequently modest but renewable | Almost never publicised outside the institution. Ask your department and scholarship cell directly |
The L'Oréal Scheme Deserves A Closer Look#
Of everything on that list, this is the one most worth acting on quickly if it fits, and the one whose eligibility window closes fastest.
It targets Class 12 leavers specifically. Female Indian citizens who have completed Class 12 and intend to pursue higher study in science.
The criteria are strict and simultaneous. Under 19 years of age. At least 85 per cent in Class 12 in the science stream. Family income under ₹6 lakh. All three must hold, which narrows the field considerably and is precisely why the odds for those who qualify are better than the amount suggests.
The award is ₹2.5 lakh, paid in equal annual instalments across the duration of your degree rather than as a lump sum. For a family at the income ceiling, that is a meaningful contribution across a three or four-year course.
The programme has a track record. Since its inception in 2015 it has supported over 550 young women, which is a real cohort rather than a token gesture.
The timing problem. Because it targets students immediately after Class 12, the window for any individual is essentially one year wide. A student who hears about it in her second year of college has missed it permanently. Which makes this the scheme most worth telling a younger sibling or a junior about.
Why These Go Unclaimed, And What To Do#
The information is stale. Renamed programmes, expired links, articles from three cycles ago. Always verify on the funder's own current page rather than on an aggregator.
Eligibility is narrow and simultaneous. Several conditions must hold at once, which means a student who fails one assumes she is ineligible for the category rather than for that scheme.
There is no central listing. Unlike government schemes on the National Scholarship Portal, corporate and foundation programmes are scattered across company pages, foundation sites and institutional noticeboards.
The practical routine.
Check your own institution first. Departmental and university awards for women in science and engineering exist at many institutions and are almost never advertised beyond a noticeboard.
Follow the funder, not the aggregator. Company education pages, foundation sites and the National Scholarship Portal for government schemes.
Apply for the government schemes regardless. AICTE Pragati at ₹50,000 a year is available to any girl in an approved technical programme within the income ceiling, and it closes on 31 October 2026 for this cycle.
Keep a documents folder current. Income certificate, marksheets, Aadhaar, bank details seeded with Aadhaar. Most of these schemes require the same set, so the second application costs an hour rather than an evening.
And apply even when the amount seems small. These stack. A student holding a government scheme, an institutional award and a corporate scholarship is assembling a funding package rather than choosing between three.
Beyond Money: What These Programmes Also Provide#
Several of these schemes attach things that matter as much as the payment, and applicants routinely overlook them.
Mentoring and networks. Technology-sector programmes frequently connect recipients with engineers and researchers at the funding organisation, and with each other. For a student at an institution without strong industry links, that network is worth more over a career than the cash amount.
Internship and placement pathways. Some corporate programmes create a route into the funder's own internship pipeline. This is rarely guaranteed and frequently real.
Research funding specifically. INSPIRE's ₹20,000 summer research component is not living support; it exists so that you can actually do a research project, which is the thing that builds a research career.
Cohort membership. Programmes that have run for years, such as the L'Oréal scheme supporting over 550 young women since 2015, have alumni who can be contacted. That is a live resource and almost nobody uses it.
Visibility. A named scholarship on a curriculum vitae signals selection by an external body, which carries weight in later applications for postgraduate study and employment.
The practical point. When comparing two awards, look past the amount at what else is attached. A smaller award with a mentoring programme and an internship route frequently outperforms a larger one paid quietly into an account.
Building The Application Before The Deadline Exists#
Most of these schemes open briefly and close quickly. Preparing in advance is what makes application feasible.
Assemble the standing documents now. Income certificate, Class 12 or degree marksheets, Aadhaar, a bank account in your own name seeded for direct benefit transfer, a photograph and signature to standard specification. Most schemes want the same set.
Write a reusable core statement. Four hundred words covering your background, what drew you to your field, one concrete thing you have done in it, and what you intend next. Every application adapts this rather than starting fresh.
Collect one concrete piece of evidence. A project, a competition result, a piece of work you can describe specifically. Applications in this category are distinguished by specificity, and a student who has built something has an answer that others do not.
Identify one referee and ask early. A teacher who knows your work and will write about it in detail. Approach them before you need the letter, not three days before a deadline.
Track the funders, not the aggregators. Follow the education or foundation pages of the organisations whose schemes you want, since cycle dates shift and aggregator listings go stale.
And tell juniors about schemes you have aged out of. The L'Oréal scheme in particular has a one-year window tied to Class 12, which means the students who most need to know about it are the ones behind you.
Frequently Asked Questions#
What happened to the Google Anita Borg Scholarship?#
It was renamed the Generation Google Scholarship and its scope broadened to support underrepresented students in computer science more widely. The programme continues; only the name changed, which is why searches for the old name return outdated pages.
What does the L'Oréal India scheme offer?#
₹2.5 lakh disbursed in equal annual instalments across the duration of your degree, for female Indian citizens who have completed Class 12 and are pursuing science.
What are the L'Oréal eligibility conditions?#
Under 19 years of age, at least 85 per cent in Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology, and family income under ₹6 lakh. All three must hold simultaneously.
Is AICTE Pragati only for engineering students?#
It covers AICTE-approved technical diploma and degree programmes, which includes engineering and technology, pharmacy, architecture and related fields. The income ceiling is ₹8 lakh and applications close on 31 October 2026.
Does KVPY still fund women in science?#
KVPY was subsumed into INSPIRE from 2022 and its aptitude test is no longer held. INSPIRE's Scholarship for Higher Education component pays ₹80,000 a year to selected students in basic and natural sciences.
Are there international scholarships specifically for women?#
Several programmes encourage women to apply, and some are women-specific. The major fully funded routes including Chevening, Fulbright-Nehru, DAAD and Erasmus Mundus are open to all, with work experience requirements that exclude recent graduates from two of them.
Why do these scholarships go unclaimed?#
Stale information about renamed programmes, narrow simultaneous eligibility conditions that cause students to self-select out, and the absence of any central listing for corporate and foundation schemes.
Where should I look?#
The funder's own current page rather than an aggregator, your institution's scholarship cell and departmental noticeboard for unadvertised internal awards, and the National Scholarship Portal for government schemes including AICTE Pragati.
