All about the National Scholarship Scheme 2021

The central government of India’s Ministry of Education has recently announced that applications for this year’s National Scholarship Scheme are now open. This scholarship scheme was founded in 2018 to help students belonging to lower economic background but with excellent academic record continue with their higher education.  

The number of scholarships offered every year is around 82000, with equal division between boys and girls, that is, 41000 for each gender. This grant-in-aid once approved gets directly transferred to the bank accounts of the concerned students. 

Eligibility criteria 

• Applicant must be an Indian national. 
• Applicant must have secured more than 80 per cent in his class XII board exam. 
• Applicant’s annual family income must be less than 6 lakhs from all sources. 
• Applicant must be willing to pursue any of the regular under-graduation courses from a recognised Indian college or university, approved by UGC Act, 1956 or All India Council of Technical Education or Medical/Dental Councils of India. 
• Students willing to study any diploma or correspondence (distance mode) courses are not eligible for this scholarship. 
• Candidates who are already eligible to secure any state-run scholarship or any other allowances from public or private sources will not receive this scholarship. 

Details of the scholarship 

• The amount of the scholarship is INR 70000. 
• The scholarship will cover both tuition fees as well as day-to-day expenses of the candidates. 
• The scholarship will be available for a period of 5 years. 
• For the first 3 years, the candidates will get INR 10000 annually, while for the last 2 years, they will get INR 20000 annually. 
• The online application once submitted needs to be validated by two parties, namely, the educational institution where the student gets admitted and by the education board of his or her respective states. Applications with discrepancies or the ones that aren’t verified will stand invalid. 
• The scholarship once approved will be renewed every year. 
• Students can either apply for the first time or may renew it, as per their necessity. 

Steps to follow while applying for this scholarship 

• Log on to the official portal (scholarship.gov.in) 
• Find the option “Department of Higher Education.” 
• Go to the category “Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University students.” 
• Fill in the necessary details and submit the form. 
• The last date of application is 30^th November 2021.