Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University Students is a centrally-funded merit-cum-means scholarship initiated by the Department of Higher Education of MHRD. It started with the objective to financially assist students of economically underprivileged families. The Central Sector Scholarship scheme disburses scholarships to 82,000 graduate/postgraduate students every year.
The Central Sector Scholarship scheme is given in equal proportion to boys and girls, i.e., 41,000 of the total number of scholarships are reserved for boys and the other 41,000 are for girl candidates. The selected students receive an annual scholarship amount of up to INR 20,000 so that they could meet their day-to-day expenses while pursuing higher studies.
A detailed description of this scholarship scheme can be found below. Read the article to know about scholarship objective, key dates, eligibility conditions, awards and application process.
Central Sector Scholarship – An Overview
| Scholarship Name | Central Sector Scholarship |
| Awards | Up to INR 20,000 per annum till the completion of the course |
| Eligibility | Candidates above the 80th percentile of successful students who have passed class 12
Pursuing regular UG/PG course Annual family income less than INR 8 Lakh |
| Application period* | August-November* |
| Application process | scholarships.gov.in |
* The application period mentioned above is tentative and may change at the discretion of the scholarship provider.
Central Sector Scholarship – Objective
Offered to meritorious students, the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University Students aims to provide monetary support to students from low-income group families. The fund provided under this scholarship helps the candidate to meet his/her daily expenses incurred while pursuing graduate or postgraduate studies in general or professional courses.
Central Sector Scholarship – Awards
Central Sector Scholarship awards a total of 82,000 scholarships every year. 50% of the scholarship is earmarked for girl candidates and the remaining 50% is for boy candidates. All these scholarships are distributed to the State Education Boards on the basis of the population of 18-25 years age group in the respective State after segregating the share of CBSE and ICSE.
Furthermore, the scholarships allotted to State Education Boards are divided in the ratio of 3:2:1 among the pass-outs of Science, Commerce and Arts, respectively. The selected students receive the scholarship amount directly into their account through Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) mode. Given below is the detail of rewards given under the Central Sector Scholarship scheme.
Award Money of Central Sector Scholarship Scheme
1. Graduation
- An annual scholarship amount of INR 10,000 for 1st three years of graduation.
- In case of a 5-year integrated course (professional studies), INR 20,000 per year is given to students during the 4th and 5th years of study.
- If the students are pursuing technical courses such as B.Tech., B.Engg., the scholarship is given up to graduation level.
2. Postgraduation
- An amount of INR 20,000 is provided to students studying at postgraduation level.
Central Sector Scholarship – Key Dates
This merit-cum-means scholarship is generally announced every year in the month of July and its deadline falls in the last week of October. The application period varies from year to year and is subject to change at the discretion of the scholarship provider. For the academic session 2022-23, the last date to apply for the scholarship was 17 January 2023.
Central Sector Scholarship – Eligibility Criteria
This scheme is meant for those bright students who belong to economically disadvantaged families. While applying for this merit-cum-means scholarship, the applicants must make sure that they are above the 80th percentile of successful students in the relevant stream in the class 12 board exam. Find below more details about the eligibility criteria needed to apply for the scholarship.
- The applicants must be in the top 20th percentile merit list of class 12 results of concerned boards (SEB/CBSE/ICSE).
- The candidates must be pursuing regular courses of graduation/postgraduation/professional studies from colleges/universities recognised by AICTE, UGC, MCI, DCI or other regulatory bodies.
- The candidates belonging to reserved categories of SC, ST, OBC and PWD will get a reservation of 15%, 7.5%, 27% and 5%, respectively.
- The candidates’ annual family income must not exceed INR 8 Lakh.
- The applicants must not be availing of any other scholarship benefits.
- Also, those students who are pursuing Diploma courses are not eligible for this merit-cum-means scholarship.
If you wish to know about more Centrally-funded scholarships, then read ‘UGC Scholarship – All You Need to Know’.
Central Sector Scholarship – Key Documents
There are a few necessary documents that the applicants must keep with them ready at the time of the application process. The list of the required documents for the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University Students is given below.
- Bank passbook issued in the name of the applicant for filling bank details
- Aadhaar card number (In case Aadhaar is not yet assigned, alternatives like Aadhaar enrolment ID slip, voter ID card, driving license, PAN, passport etc. can be used
- Income certificate issued by the competent authority
- Caste certificate, if applicable
- Disability certificate, if applicable
- Class 12 mark sheet
Central Sector Scholarship – Application Process
To make the application process easy and accessible for applicants, MHRD allows students to fill out the scholarship application form online through the government scholarship portal, the National Scholarship Portal (NSP). Follow the steps given below to fill out the Central Sector Scholarship application form.
- Applicants applying to NSP for the first time need to register with NSP as new users.
- Fill in all the required information and click on ‘Register’ to get registered. A student application ID and password are generated on the registered mobile number.
- The applicants need to log in to NSP using the newly generated ID and password. An OTP is sent to the registered mobile number using which the candidate must change his/her password.
- Once the password is changed, the candidates are directed to Applicant’s Dashboard Page, where applicants need to click on ‘Application form’ to start the application process.
- The applicants need to provide all the necessary details such as registration details, academic details, basic details, contact details and scheme details.
- All the required documents in support of identity and academic eligibility must be uploaded by the applicants.
- Now, the filled-in application form must be saved as a draft so that the applicant can check every detail once again to make sure they are correct.
- Finally, the candidate must click on ‘Submit’ button to submit the completed scholarship application form.
Note: These online scholarships submitted by the candidates are verified at two levels – one at institute level where the candidate is studying and the other at education board level through which the candidate passed his/her class 12 exam.
Central Sector Scholarship – Renewal Policy
The beneficiaries of this merit-cum-means scholarship are eligible to receive the scholarship for a maximum period of 5 years which includes both graduation and post graduation period. The candidates must be pursuing graduation and post-graduation in the same stream. Moreover, the candidates must fulfil the prescribed eligibility criteria in order to get the scholarship renewed.
- The students must have secured at least 50% or more marks in the previous exam.
- They must maintain an attendance of at least 75%.
- The candidates must not be involved in any ragging activities.
- They can apply on NSP for renewal of this merit-cum-means scholarship.
Contact Details
In case of any query regarding the Central Sector Scholarship scheme, the applicants can contact:
Address: National Scholarship Division,
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education,
West Block 1, 2nd Floor, Wing 6, Room No. 6,
R.K. Puram, Sector 1, New Delhi 110066.
Telephone No: 011-26172917, 26172491, 26165238
Also, read ‘Means Scholarship – All You Need to Know’ to enrich your knowledge of scholarships offered for economically weak students.
Central Sector Scholarship – FAQs
✔️ Q. How can a student get a Central Sector Scholarship?
The Central Sector Scholarship, run by MHRD, Government of India is meant to support the studies of meritorious students coming from underprivileged families. The students who fulfil all the eligibility conditions may apply for the scholarship through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP). Once the application gets verified, the selected students get the scholarship amount directly in their respective bank accounts through DBT.
✔️ Q. Who is eligible for the Central Sector Scholarship?
The students, who are among the top 20th percentile of successful students in the relevant stream in Class 12 board examination can avail benefits under this scholarship. They must be pursuing a regular undergraduate/ postgraduate/ professional course from a recognised institution in India. Also, the annual income of the family should be less than INR 8 lakh per annum from all sources.
✔️ Q. What are the documents required for the Central Sector Scholarship?
The students applying for the Central Sector Scholarship need to provide certain documents in support of their application such as bank passbook in the name of the applicant, Aadhaar card number, income certificate, caste certificate (if applicable), disability certificate (if applicable), and Class 12 mark sheet.
✔️ Q. What is the minimum income requirement for Central Sector Scholarship?
There is no minimum income requirement for the scholarship. However, the annual income of the applicant's family must not exceed INR 8 lakh per annum from all sources.
✔️ Q. What is the minimum percentage requirement for renewal of Central Sector Scheme?
To ensure the renewal of scholarship, the students must secure at least 50% marks or more in the previous examination. Also, they must maintain an attendance of at least 75%.
✔️ Q. Is this scholarship available for General category students?
Yes, the Central Sector Scholarship is meant for all categories of students (including General category). However, reservations are available for various reserved categories as per the norms laid by the Government of India. 15% of scholarships are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) students, 7.5% of scholarships are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, 27% of scholarships are reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates, and 5% of scholarships are reserved for Physically Handicapped/Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).