The central sector scheme of scholarships for college and university students is a merit-cum-means scholarship scheme implemented by the Department of Higher Education. This scholarship scheme can be availed through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP).
NSP is a one-stop solution through which various services starting from student application, application receipt, processing, sanction and disbursal of various scholarships to students are enabled.
Eligibility conditions
Students who are above 80th percentile of successful candidates in the relevant stream from a particular board of examination in class XII
Students pursuing regular courses (not correspondence or distance mode)
Students having family income of less than Rs 4.5 lakh per annum
Students not receiving any other scholarship and fee reimbursement of any kind
Diploma students not eligible under the scheme.
Documents needed
Bank passbook for filling bank details (bank account must be in the name of the applicant)
Aadhaar card number
Parental income certificate
A valid cell phone number
An e-mail ID
Caste certificate (wherever required)
Disability certificate (wherever required)
Type of scholarship
The rate of scholarship is Rs 12,000 per annum at the graduation level for the first three years of college and university courses and Rs 20,000 per annum at the post-graduation level. Students pursuing technical courses are paid Rs 20,000 per annum in the 4th and 5th years. The applicant has to apply for a renewal scholarship on NSP every subsequent year. Students pursuing B.Tech / BE would get scholarships for four years only, that is Rs 12,000 per annum for the first three years and Rs 20,000 per annum in the 4th year.
Duration of scholarship
A student will be eligible for the scholarship for a total duration not exceeding five years. A scholarship under the scheme is renewable on a year-to-year basis up to the post-graduate level (except for the students pursuing technical courses leading to a degree at the graduation level).
Renewal of scholarship
To receive a renewal scholarship, it is compulsory for the scheme beneficiaries to apply on NSP. If the student missed out in any academic year he / she can apply for renewal in the subsequent year subject to fulfilling other renewal eligibility criteria. Therefore, the applicant has to ensure to apply for renewal on the portal and to ensure that his / her application is verified by the institute and state nodal officer, before closure of the portal.
Disbursement of scholarship
The scholarship is disbursed through direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode, that is, directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiary. To have seamless disbursal of scholarships, students are required to seed their Aadhaar numbers with the bank account as mentioned in the application form. The student can track his / her payment status from the 'know your payment' template in the public financial management system portal and can also check status on NSP with their login credentials.
Online portal for application www.scholarships.gov.in
(The writer is a Vile Parle-based social activist)
