Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities
Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities, along with the Pre and Post Matric scholarship schemes, is the flagship program of the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA). More often than not, a lot of meritorious and academically brilliant students miss out on education due to financial constraints. This further leads to unequal employment opportunities for these students. The objective of the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities is to support the wards of families belonging to minority communities. The Government of India notifies Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains as minority communities and thus, students who belong to any of these communities are eligible to avail the benefits of this MOMA scholarship.
Under the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities, financial assistance is provided to the poor and meritorious students belonging to minority communities. It aims to enable them with an opportunity to pursue professional and technical courses at the graduate or postgraduate level. This would, in turn, allow them a chance for a bright future.
Do you think you are eligible for this scholarship scheme? When do the applications open? What are the benefits offered under this scholarship program? How to apply? Let’s find the answers to all these questions in this article.
The benefits of the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities cover financial support provided by the government for studies in India in a Government or private institution selected and notified in a transparent manner by the State Government/Union Territory Administration concerned. The scholarship covers technical and professional courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The scholarship provided by the government will be for the entire academic year/course. Also, the maintenance allowance will be given as a fixed lump sum amount for an academic year. It is worth noting that the academic year translates to 10 months in a year. Thus, students will receive INR 10,000 (hosteller) and INR 5,000 (day scholar) as maintenance allowance for the academic year. The table below shows the breakdown of the scholarship.
Item | Scholarship benefits |
Course fee | INR 20,000 per annum subject to actuals whichever is less (for both Hostellers & Day Scholars) |
Maintenance allowance | INR 1,000 per month* for Hostellers and INR 500 per month* for Day Scholars |
Scholarship for listed institutes | Full course fee reimbursed for 85 listed institutes |
*For 10 months in an academic year
Note: One can check the list of 85 institutes eligible for full fee reimbursement here.
Once you are eligible for the scholarship, the next step would be to apply for it. However, one must first be aware of the timeline for this scholarship. This MOMA scholarship usually opens up for a month. The scholarship renews each year and starts accepting new applications around the same time each year. The table shown below shows the relevant dates for the scholarship.
Sr. No. | Event | Key dates* |
1. | Applications open | 16th August 2020 |
2. | Applications close | 20th January 2021 |
*The key dates mentioned above are tentative and may change as per the discretion of the scholarship provider.
This scholarship is for supporting higher education among students belonging to minority communities. To be eligible for this scholarship, the candidates must fulfill the following eligibility criteria:
Just like other MOMA scholarships, students can apply for Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities through the National Scholarship Portal or the NSP. The NSP is a one-stop portal for various Government scholarships. Students can get access to a large number of centrally- and state-sponsored scholarships on the portal. Various features like scholarship information, application, receipt, sanction and disbursal make NSP an attractive proposition. NSP thus offers a simplified process for students when it comes to scholarships.
One can follow the below steps to apply for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities using NSP:
The applicants need to furnish a certain set of documents in order for the authorities to verify the details provided in the application form. Here is the list of important documents:
The Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities is subject to various terms and conditions directed by the government of India. Here are a few points worth keeping in mind.
Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions related to this MOMA scholarship.
Q. Who is eligible to apply for this scholarship?
The Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Minorities is open to meritorious students belonging to minority communities who want to pursue professional and technical courses.
Q. How can I apply for this scholarship?
One can apply for this scholarship through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), an online platform for all the Government scholarships that offers a simplified application procedure.
Q. What should be the Type and size of the documents to be uploaded?
The size of the documents submitted on NSP should not exceed 200 kb. Also, the files should be in .pdf or .jpeg format.
Q. Which fields I can edit before final submission of application?
One can edit all details except ‘Registration Details’. But after the submission of the application, no further changes can be made.
Q. Do I have to fill up the online application in one sitting?
No. Candidates can fill up the online application in as many sittings as they want. The option ‘Save Draft’ can be used until submitting the application.
Q. How should I check the status of my application online?
Students can login on NSP using the ‘Application Id’ and ‘Password’. Once login, students can click on ‘Check Your Status’ to check online status of the application.
In case the applicant faces any issue or still have any doubts regarding this MOMA scholarship, he/she can reach out to the concerned authority through the following means:
Phone:0120–6619540
Email: helpdesk@nsp.gov.in
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