Dakshana Scholars are gifted, but impoverished adolescents who have been granted scholarships by Dakshana to get coached by the best IIT JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) training institutes in order to maximize their odds of getting admitted to The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Every year some 250,000 students take the IIT JEE for under 5000 available seats. The odds of a person taking the IIT JEE getting into IIT is under 2%. Dakshana is focused on funding scholarships for bright, impoverished kids for whom the predicted odds are over 25% after 1-2 years of coaching. If the individual does not make it to IIT in their first attempt and the student continues to show promise, Dakshana will support the scholar to:

• Take the AIEEE (All India Engineering Entrance Examination). The odds of clearing the AIEEE and getting into one of the National Institutes of Technology are over 80% for the typical Dakshana Scholar.
• Attempt the IIT JEE for a 2nd time after another year of preparation.

As of this writing (November, 2007), Dakshana has about 287 Dakshana Scholars. The foundation has a current assets of over $1.5 Million (Rs. 6 Crores). It is anticipated that the founders of Dakshana will contribute over $1.3 Million annually to Dakshana. In 2009, after we have proven the model, we hope to open to outside donors. In 2012 the first Dakshana Scholars will enter the workforce.

We hope to add hundreds of new Dakshana Scholars to our family every year.