The Yash Chopra Foundation has named 11 students for its annual scholarships, with robotics and artificial intelligence scholars chosen for the first time.

The philanthropic arm of Yash Raj Films picked the students from over 300 applicants through a merit- and need-based process. Each scholar will receive up to 5 lakh rupees towards course fees for the 2026-27 academic year.

The programme supports children of registered Hindi film industry workers and union members. Until now it backed film and media courses, but this year it has expanded to engineering, IT, law, medicine and management.

Among the technology scholars are Nidhi Subhashchandra Yadav, who is studying robotics and AI systems, and Aryan Singh, who is pursuing computer science with AI and machine learning. Another scholar, Valencia Madhura, is studying cyber security.

‘What is particularly meaningful this year is seeing that support evolve with the aspirations of the students themselves,’ said YRF CEO Akshaye Widhani. Why it matters: it shows how Bollywood’s behind-the-scenes families are reaching for careers far beyond the film set.