India CSR News Network
MUMBAI: Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that it has presented 89 talented students from underprivileged families in Mumbai with a study scholarship from the Merck India Charitable Trust (MICT), that will support them from Std XI until graduation, covering a period of 5—7 yrs of education.
The scholarship amount of Rs 35000/- per student per year will support the study fees, study material and additional coaching that students would require during their graduation in professional courses like engineering and medicine or arts and science courses. The students from underprivileged families in Mumbai were selected on the basis of their high scores in Std. 10 and their scores in the aptitude test conducted by Merck. With the addition of 89 students in 2016, the scholarship will now support 225 students including a visually impaired student, in Mumbai.
Talking about the scholarship program Anand Nambiar, Managing Director, Merck India said, “With this scholarship Merck is nurturing the future of the nation. We believe that talent should not suffer from the lack of resources and go futile in the struggles for a respectable life. This is why we have made a long term commitment of financial support to these talented students who are starting a new phase in their education. Merck wishes the new batch of MICT Scholars a successful future”
MICT scholarship was constituted by Merck Limited in 2005. The primary objective of the program is to encourage talented under-privileged students to pursue higher education and prevent them from dropping out of academics due to lack of financial resources. 54 students have already passed out with the help of this program and got successfully employed in prestigious Indian multinational firms in IT, medicine and other fields. The records of these students over the years reveal almost nil drop outs from the scholarship program. The program started with 40 students and have now grown to 225 students in Mumbai and 50 students in Goa.
Merck sees the promotion of education as a part of its social responsibility. Culture is a strategic sphere of activity of the company’s sustainability efforts under which education is an important element which helps inspire people and broadens their horizons. It facilitates their acceptance of science, technological progress and innovation. Under its social responsibility frame work the company supports cultural initiatives and educational programs across the globe.
