Gurugram, July 8 : Samsung India on Thursday gave scholarships to 544 meritorious students from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools, who qualified for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and National Institute of Technology (NIT), as part of its Samsung Star Scholar programme. The programme offers scholarships every year to meritorious JNV students for pursuing full-term B Tech/Dual Degree (B Tech + M Tech) courses at any IIT or NIT. The scholarship is of up to Rs 2 lakh for expenses related to tuition, examination, hostel and mess for one academic year and it can be renewed every year up to five years. It has so far benefited 800 JNV students. The Samsung Star Scholar programme, currently in its sixth year, has granted 150 scholarships to new applicants from JNVs, of which 87 will begin their journey across different IITs and 63 at different NITs across India this year. In addition, scholarships have been renewed for the next year for 394 existing students. Recipients of renewed scholarships include 139 second year students, 171 third year students, 82 fourth year students and two fifth year students. "The Samsung Star Scholar programme is an embodiment of our vision of #PoweringDigitalIndia that seeks to empower the next generation of young India. As we enter the sixth year of the Star Scholar programme, we are excited to have supported these bright young talents who we wish to see as future leaders transforming the nation," said Partha Ghosh, Vice President & Head, Corporate Citizenship, Samsung India, in a statement. The selection of first-year applicants is based on their All India Rank (AIR) in JEE Main, however, to get a renewal of the scholarship for the second -- 4/5th year, students are required to maintain a semester grade point average (SGPA) or cumulative grade point average (CPGA) rating of 5 or above. Samsung partnered with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti for the Samsung Smart School programme in 2013. As part of the programme, the company has so far added smart classes to 625 JNV schools, impacting close to 500,000 students. More than 8,000 teachers have also been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach effectively. /IANS