Sahitya Akademi in 1996, instituted a Fellowship in the name of the great scholar and aesthete Dr. Anandacoomaraswamy to be offered to scholars from Asian countries to pursue literary projects of their choice.

Sahitya Akademi had announced the conferment of the first Fellowships in 1996 on three scholars namely, Dr. Azad N. Shamatov, Head of South Asian Languages Department, Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies, Tashkent, Prof. Senake Bandaranayake, Director, Post-Graduate Institute of Archeology, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Prof. Chie Nakane, a noted scholar from Japan. Of the three, Dr. Shamatov and Prof. Bandaranayake availed the fellowship and spent several weeks in India doing useful research.

The scheme which was discontinued in view of practical difficulties was revived in 2005 after revising the terms and conditions which are given below:

1. One Fellowship may be offered to a person of eminence in the field of Asian art, culture, literature and language studies every year under this scheme.
2. The period of Fellowship should be from one month to three months depending on the convenience and availability of the writer/scholar.
3. Actual cost of international air journey may be borne by the Sahitya Akademi, as also train or air journey within India.
4. Arrangements for boarding and lodging would be made by the Sahitya Akademi.
5. An amount of Rs. 25,000 per month might be given to the scholar for meeting incidental expenses.
6. The visiting Fellow may be requested to deliver lectures on the topic of his/her specialization in institutions/departments dealing in the discipline.
7. A database of writers and scholars might be created to identify the Fellows. Names of writers and scholars might be invited from the Indian Missions abroad, members of the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi, senior writers and scholars and from select cultural and literary institutions and universities.
8. The visiting Fellow will be expected to submit a comprehensive report of his visit which will be placed before the Executive Board.