New Delhi, Oct.14 Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith presented Australian Leadership Award (ALA) Scholarships to four impressive Indian students on Wednesday.

The awardees, chosen on their strong academic abilities and their potential as leaders, were Tulika Saxena, Mayuri Sengupta, Abhinav Dhall and Lalit Kumar Donakonda.

They will undertake research starting next year leading to Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the Australian National University in Canberra, and the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Their studies will focus on some of the most complex and challenging issues in development: gender; conflict prevention; the use of technology for improving health service delivery; and energy and climate change.

The scholarship presentation was held at Australia's High Commission in New Delhi and was attended by a number of previous winners of scholarships and fellowships to Australia.

Australia's scholarships are a key part of our development assistance program. It is also an effective way to deepen people-to-people links between Australia and our neighbours. These ALA Scholarships will strengthen the friendship and understanding between India and Australia.

These latest ALA Scholarships build on 63 ALA scholarships and fellowships awarded to Indian students since the program began in 2007.

Australian Leadership Award Scholarships are offered to high achievers from Asia and the Pacific to undertake postgraduate study at Australian universities. The scholarships help develop leadership and set up awardees to potentially influence social and economic development in their own countries and in our region. (ANI)