Memorandum of Agreement
For the establishment of PADMAMOD Scholarship Fund
This Memorandum of Agreement is made between the Nepal Geological Society (“NGS”), a professional civil society organization duly registered with the Governmet of Nepal (Registration Number 17/036/37), and Mr. Avani Dixit (“Donor”), resident of Bhaisepati Saibu Awas, House Number 200, Block U, Road SR-10, Ward Number 25, Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Nepal, for the establishment and administration of a scholarship to support students to conduct MSc Research in Geology.
Whereas, Dr. Kabiraj Poudel, President of Nepal Geological Society and Dr. Kamala Kant Acharya, General Secretary of NGS have had a series of talks with Mr. Avani Dixit on the need to establish scholarships for promoting education of Geological and Disaster Reduction sciences in Nepal,
Whereas, Mr. Avani Dixit and his consort Mrs. Barsha Dharel Dixit are desirous to support NGS in their quest for promotion of above-mentioned education by donating a capital sum of money to establish and administer a scholarship in memory of Avani Dixit’s late mother Mrs. Padma Dixit,
It is agreed by both parties as follows:
A. Name of the Scholarship: PADMAMOD SCHOLARSHIP (PADMAMOD means “fragrance of white lotus” in Sanskrit language). This Scholarship aims to partially support Nepalese students for conducting their Thesis-related research in partial fulfilment of the requirements to obtain the degree of Master of Science in Geology or Engineering Geology.
B.Donor (s): Mr. Avani Dixit (in the memory of Avani’s late mother Mrs. PadmaDixit)
C. Amount of PADMAMOD Scholarship initial fund: Avani Dixit will donate a sum of NRS 500,000 (Five Lakhs Nepali Rupees only) to NGS for the establishment andadministration of PADMAMOD Scholarship. This sum will be deposited in a fixed deposit account in a Class A bank (Rastriya Banijjya Bank) in a separate account of the Nepal Geological Society PADMAMOD Scholarship Fund. A separate bank account will allow the Donor or NGS to further fund-raise to increase thecapital amount of the PADMAMOD Scholarship Fund. In case additional sum is contributed to the scholarship fund in the future by the Donor or any otherindividual, the number of the scholarships awarded per year may increase, which will be determined jointly by the two parties. The principle fund would not be used for administering the scholarship award or granting the scholarship. Only the interest accrued on principle amount of the fund will be used for grantingthe scholarships along with some logistics costs such as printing of certificates and medals. With this initial principal PADMAMOD Scholarship amount, two students will be awarded scholarships annually. The NGS will decideon the scholarship amount annually, based on the interest accrued in the year.
D. Candidates of scholarship: Students who are studying either geology or engineering geology in any university of Nepal and doing her/his master’s dissertation in a topic that relates to geo-hazards risk management.
E. Number of PADMAMOD Scholarship Candidates: Two students (one female and one male students); if there are no suitable female or male candidates in any year, then the NGS may decide to either award that year’s Scholarship to another deserving candidate, or put the unspent amount into the NGS PADMAMOD Scholarship Fund account to increase the principle sum.
F. PADMAMOD Scholarship Sub-committee of NGS: NGS will form a Scholarship Sub-committee that will be responsible for administrating this and other scholarship awards and selection of the candidates and awardees. A representative of the Donor will be invited to the annual meetings of the PADMAMOD Scholarship selection process as a bona fide member with voting right in the selection process.
G. PADMAMOD Scholarship Selection Criteria:The Scholarship Sub-committee of NGS will issue call for applications from interested and eligible candidates by announcing the scholarship annually wellin advance of the scholarship award date. The committee will select twoawardees- one female and one male, based on the following criteria andpre-requisites:
i. Prospective candidates must submit an application for PADMAMOD Scholarshipstating the motivation for applying, her/his commitment to research topic, andhow the award might contribute to her/his future career goals.
ii. Proof of academic excellence (high scores in the preceding two examinations (finalexamination of the first semester/year and/or second semester/year of Master’sdegree). Certified copies of relevant documents (academic certificate/marksheet) evidencing academic excellence is a must.
iii. Approved proposal for a Master’s dissertation on a topic that relates to Geo-hazardsrisk management.
iv. A Letter of Recommendation from current supervisor(s)
v. While promise of academic excellence and a commitment to serve Nepal will bethe main criteria, relative preference may be given to the needy candidatesespecially from remote areas of Nepal.
H. PADMAMOD Scholarship Fund webpage: A separate webpage or webpages will be created within the domain of NGS website for PADMAMOD Scholarship Fund. The following information will be published in the webpage(s), annually:
i. The call for application for PADMAMOD Scholarship.
ii. The result of the Scholarship award, immediately after the decision by the PADMAMOD Scholarship Selection Sub-Committee of NGS.
iii. Master’s thesis of the successful candidates, immediately upon completion of master’s thesis.
I. Scholarship Distribution: The PADMAMOD Scholarship will be distributed in each Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Nepal Geological Society (generally in Bhadra/August of each year). A representative of Donor will be invited to attend the award function as a guest; in addition invitation will be extended up to four guests of Donor choice.
J. Amendment of the Agreement: This agreement can be changed on the mutual agreement of the two parties, if needed.
I order to affirm their wishes and a commitment to abide by the conditions of this Memorandum of Agreement, both parties to this agreement affixed their signatures amidst witnesses as appearing below.
Executedon the 20th Day of August of 2018 (2nd of Bhadra of 2075Vikram Sambat) at Kathmandu, Nepal
For the Document of Agreemet with signature click here
