CHENNAI: Fifteen-year-old M.Tech student at Madras-IIT, S. Chandra Sekar, the youngest engineering graduate in the country, will receive a package of grants worth over Rs. 7 lakh from the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for his education.

The global IT services and consulting firm announced on Thursday it would support the professional aspirations of the boy. The grant covers tuition fees, research activities, technology infrastructure support, global project experience and mentoring from senior executives at TCS.

Talking to The Hindu from Mumbai, where Chandra Sekar had gone to receive the cheque from TCS CEO S. Ramadorai, the youngster said though he was looking for financial support for his education, the best part of the TCS package was the assistance he would get for his research project in information security. ``I am also happy that I will be getting ideas from senior people there, and have access to their labs," he said. He will start his research in the second year of his M.Tech.

In addition to his costs at IIT-Madras, TCS will also support the student's research, travel and project expenses that will allow him to explore his ideas and interact with the global academic and research community, said a press release from the company. The association between TCS and Chandra Sekar also represents a new model for collaboration to develop R&D talent in the country. Chandra Sekar's research interests in the areas of computer network security and cryptology are in keeping with TCS' own R&D efforts in these areas. This will allow Chandra Sekar to work on global projects.