The Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, Government of India flagged off a group of students participating in the Sakura Science Programme 2026 at NCERT, New Delhi on May 23, 2026
56 school students and 4 supervisors from India will visit Japan from May 24 to May 30, 2026
The delegation includes participants from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa alongside Indian students
Gender breakdown: 24 boys and 32 girls among the 56 students
Students are from Government schools across 15 States and Union Territories: Assam, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal
All participants are recipients of scholarships under the National Means cum Merit Scholarship (NMMS) Scheme of the Government of India
The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) has been implementing the 'Japan Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science' (Sakura Science Programme) since 2014
India has been participating in the programme since April 2016
Cumulative participation: 674 students and 96 supervisors from India have visited Japan under this programme so far
The most recent batch visited Japan in August 2025
The programme aligns with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020's emphasis on holistic, integrated, enjoyable and engaging learning through experiential learning
