Girls from low-income families in India who are enrolled in, or have secured admission to, a STEM course at a recognised institution. Most scholars are the first in their family to study at this level, and many have lost a parent or are supported by a single earning member.

Engineering and technology (all branches), medicine and allied health sciences, computer science and IT, pure sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, statistics), and related professional programmes such as architecture and pharmacy. If you are unsure whether a course qualifies, write to us and we will check.

Scholars are drawn from Buddy4Study's base of more than 4.5 million registered students. Every applicant goes through a multi-step verification of her admission or enrolment, academic record and family income before she is shortlisted. Final selection gives weight to financial need, academic merit and vulnerability, such as loss of a parent or a single-earner household.

Girls in India score on par with boys in science and maths at school, but far fewer go on to study or work in STEM. The reason is rarely ability; it is cost. When a family can afford only one child's engineering or medical fees, it is usually the daughter who gives way. A scholarship removes that trade-off and, in most cases, changes the earning trajectory of the entire household.

Click Donate on this page and choose your amount. Indian donors can pay by UPI, net banking, or debit / credit card. Donors outside India can use international credit / debit cards or bank transfer; see 'Donating from outside India' below.

Yes. You can choose a one-time or recurring contribution at checkout, and change or stop it at any time by writing to kind@buddy4study.com.

Yes. Every donor receives an official receipt by email. Kind Circle is run by Buddy4Study India Foundation, which is registered under Section 80G (Reg. No. AAHCB2666BF2021101), so donations from Indian taxpayers are eligible for deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Your 80G certificate is issued along with the receipt. For donors outside India, see the international section below.

Yes to both. Many donors give in memory of a parent, teacher or loved one, and we can acknowledge that in the Circle's updates. Groups are welcome too: families, colleagues, alumni batches and communities anywhere in the world can all contribute to this same Circle and follow its progress together. Use 'Invite Network' on this page to share it.

Many companies, especially in the US, match employees' charitable gifts, which can double your impact. Check with your HR or CSR team; if they need documentation from us, write to kind@buddy4study.com and we will provide it.

Funds are transferred directly, either to the scholar's own bank account or to her college towards fees, according to what works best for her course. Nothing is handed out in cash.

You will receive email updates when scholars are selected, when funds are disbursed and when the Circle publishes its progress report. The Circle page itself shows funds raised, number of scholars supported and disbursement records, and you can follow the Circle to be notified of new updates.

If a scholar discontinues her course, the unspent balance stays in this Circle and is used for another eligible girl or carried forward to the next selection cycle. It is never diverted to other purposes.

Yes. Buddy4Study India Foundation is FCRA-registered, so it can lawfully receive contributions from donors living abroad. You can pay by international credit or debit card or by bank transfer; options vary slightly by country.

Under FCRA rules it depends on your passport, not where you live. If you hold an Indian passport, your gift is a domestic contribution even if you live abroad. If you hold a foreign passport, including OCI cardholders, it is a foreign contribution and goes through our FCRA route. This is why we ask for your passport details at checkout: they determine the correct legal channel for your donation. The details are stored securely and used only for compliance.

It depends on where you pay tax. In some countries donations can be routed through a partner nonprofit that issues locally valid tax receipts. For US donors, we are working with 501(c)(3) partners to make donations tax-deductible; email kind@buddy4study.com for the current options before you give.

Write to kind@buddy4study.com or call on 9588957055 and the Kind Circle team will get back to you, usually within two working days.