ISAS has successfully secured private and government funds to enhance South Asia studies at Berkeley.

Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies
The ISAS has received a major gift from the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation to establish the Subir & Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies. In addition to promoting and integrating interdisciplinary scholarship, the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center will sponsor lectures and conferences.

The Mahomedali Habib Distinguished Lecture Series on Pakistan 
The Mahomedali Habib Distinguished Lecture Series on Pakistan is named in honor of one of the leading figures in the history of the Habib family. In addition to successfully guiding the Habib family’s transition from India to Pakistan following independence in 1947, Mahomedali Habib laid the foundations for the House of Habib, a group of powerful business and financial companies. The group has a long-standing history of philanthropy and social service and is currently leading the establishment of Habib University, a liberal arts and sciences university, in Pakistan which aims to bridge the gap between global academia and Pakistan. Toward honoring the legacy of Mahomedali Habib – who was distinguished by his love for Pakistan and his deep commitment to education and philanthropy – the Habib family has decided to endow an annual lecture series in his name. Through this lecture series the Habib family aims to improve and diversify conversations about Pakistan in the United States as well as create opportunities for US and Pakistan-based scholars to dialogue. Details about this lecture series here

Indo-American Community Lectureship in India Studies
The Indo-American Community Lectureship in India Studies enables ISAS to bring prominent individuals from India to Berkeley every other year to deliver a lecture and interact with campus and community members during a one to two-week stay. We are supported in this by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which pays the visitor’s international airfare. More about past lecturers here. 

The lectureship is an offshoot of the Indo-American Community Chair in India Studies' endowment. The endowment was established via a community-based campaign in 1990 and 1991. Helped significantly by the efforts of the Consul General of India in San Francisco, the Hon. Satinder K. Lambah, hundreds of members of the Indo-American community throughout California and the West made contributions to this endowment. The Chair was officially inaugurated with two brilliant guest lecturers in 1991-1992, by Nobel laureate physicist S. Chandrasekhar and former U.S. Ambassador to India John Kenneth Galbraith. In addition to Consul General Lambah, Ambassador Abid Hussain and UC Berkeley Chancellor Chang-lin Tien spoke at the Chair inaugural. Also during that year ISAS brought two short-term holders of the Chair to lecture for several weeks at Berkeley, legal scholar Upendra Baxi and sociologist André Beteille both from Delhi University. Since then the Chair has been held by economist Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri, political scientist Subrata Mitra, environmentalist Ramachandra Guha, political scientist Sudipto Kaviraj, literary critic Meenakshi Mukherjee and others. Professor Pradeep Chhibber was named Chair when he joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 2001.

The Maharaj Kaul Memorial Grant
Established in 2010 in memory of Maharaj Kaul (1940 - 2009), a UC Berkeley alum, tireless campaigner against injustice and for peace, founder of groups such as India Relief and Education Fund, and Coalition Against Communalism, and long-time supporter of ISAS’s mission and activities, the purpose of the Maharaj Kaul Memorial Fund is to provide support for graduate fellowships. Till 2016, the fund also supported an annual lecture series on the theme of social justice. Read more about past Maharaj Kaul Memorial Lecturers as well as current grant awardees here. 

The Padmanabh S. Jaini Graduate Student Award in Buddhist Studies
The Padmanabh S. Jaini Graduate Student Award in Buddhist Studies was established in 2009 with a generous gift from Professor Jaini that was matched by the Chancellor's Matching Gift Program This award supports high-achieving graduate students in Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley and honors Professor Jaini's important legacy in the field of Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley and beyond. Padmanabh S. Jaini is Professor emeritus of Buddhist Studies and co-founder of the Group in Buddhist Studies. For a list of past recipients of the Jaini Award, please click here

Tata Social Internship Program
The Tata Group, one of India's largest private sector conglomerates and a global leader in innovative corporate social responsibility initiatives, in 2008 launched the Tata International Social Entrepreneurship Scheme (TISES). The primary objective of TISES is to provide international students with opportunities to contribute to community initiative projects of Tata Group companies in India and in so doing to promote international understanding. University of California Berkeley and Cambridge University in the UK are the first two participating universities. Berkeley will identify up to five upper division undergraduate or graduate students for 8-week summer TISES internships with Tata Group's community initiative programs. Through this program, competitively selected interns join Tata community development teams working on the economic and social empowerment of communities surrounding the company's operating units.