The University Grants Commission has released an official notification stating that it has introduced Aadhaar-Based Payment (ABP) for the disbursement of fellowships and scholarships.
UGC has decided to universalize the Aadhaar-Based Payment (ABP) system for the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of fellowships and scholarships. Under this new mandate, all disbursements through the Scholarship and Fellowship Management Portal (SFMP) will be made only to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts.
According to the official notification, all beneficiaries must link their Aadhaar numbers to their bank accounts and update the SFMP portal to continue receiving their fellowship or scholarship. The deadline for completing Aadhaar seeding on the Scholarship and Fellowship Management Portal (SFMP) is April 15, 2026.
The notification also stated that "All Nodal Officers and beneficiaries availing fellowship/scholarship under UGC schemes on SFMP are requested to take urgent and proactive steps to complete the process on SFMP by 15.04.2026, if it has not already been done."
Nodal Officers have been directed to verify and approve Aadhaar details by April 20, 2026, to ensure timely disbursement for the fiscal year 2026–27. A step-by-step Aadhaar update manual is available on the SFMP portal for reference. Questions can be sent to netjrf-ugc@nic.in.
Earlier, Pondicherry University and the University of Allahabad released a notification stating that the Aadhaar-based payment will be mandatory for the UGC-NET Fellowship Beneficiaries from April 1, 2026.
