National Scholarship – The term refers to an array of financial opportunities that are offered to students studying in India. Various private/corporate organisations, NGOs as well as departments of the Indian government provide monetary help to students pursuing different levels of education across the country with an aim to help them complete their education unhindered.
The government has created a distinctive website named National Scholarship Portal (NSP), which enlists all the national as well as state-level scholarships for the students studying within India. Students from any caste, creed, category or gender can apply for the national scholarships via NSP. Besides this, there are various corporate organisations as well which offer national-level scholarships to support meritorious and underprivileged students.
Students interested to know more about government-funded and corporate-funded national scholarships will find detailed information regarding their application timeline, eligibility, award details and other important information in this article further.
National Scholarship 2021-22 – Complete List of Government Scholarships
The Government of India offers a varied number of scholarships for students across India. A few of the scholarships are disbursed at the national level while the other few are distributed at state level. A few of the departments offering national-level scholarships are:
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
- Ministry of Minority Affairs
- Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- Ministry of Labour and Employment
- Ministry of Education (formerly known as MHRD) and others
In the below table, candidates will find the list of top 20 national scholarships offered by the government departments along with their provider details and tentative application timeline.
National Scholarship 2022 – List of Government-funded Scholarships
*The application timeline mentioned above is tentative and may change at the discretion of the scholarship provider.
Government National Scholarship 2022 – Key Highlights
Each scholarship comes with a predefined set of eligibility conditions that one must fulfil to avail of their benefits. Any student who wants to avail of scholarships must be aware of the eligibility criteria of the respective scholarship schemes. In case a student misses any of the specified criteria, his/her scholarship application will not be accepted. The table below highlights detailed eligibility criteria for government national scholarships along with their award details.
Government-funded National Scholarship – Key Highlights
Scholarship Name | Eligibility | Award Details |
Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Minorities |
|
Maintenance allowance, book grant, and disability allowance |
Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Minorities |
|
Maintenance allowance, book grant, and disability allowance |
Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Professional and Technical Courses |
|
Up to INR 2 lakh per annum and other benefits |
Pre-matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities |
|
Maintenance Allowance, Book Grant, and Disability Allowance |
Post-matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities |
|
Maintenance Allowance, Book Grant, and Disability Allowance |
Scholarships for Top Class Education for students with disabilities |
|
Maintenance allowance, book grant, and disability allowance |
Top Class Education for SC Students |
|
Full tuition fee and other allowance |
Financial Assistance for Education of the Wards of Beedi/Cine/IOMC/LSDM Workers – Post-Matric |
|
Up to INR 15,000 |
Financial Assistance for Education of the Wards of Beedi/Cine/IOMC/LSDM Workers – Pre-Matric |
|
Up to INR 1,840 |
National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students |
For Fellowship
For Scholarship
|
Up to INR 28,000 per month and other benefits |
National Means cum Merit Scholarship |
|
INR 12,000 per annum |
Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students |
|
Up to INR 20,000 per annum |
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme |
|
|
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme for RPF/RPSF |
|
INR 2,250 per month for girls and INR 2,000 per month for boys |
PG Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child |
|
INR 36,200 per annum for two years |
PG Scholarship for University Rank Holders |
|
INR 3,100 per month for two years |
PG Scholarship Scheme for SC/ST Students for Professional Courses |
|
|
Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) |
|
Up to INR 7,000 per month plus contingency grant |
AICTE Pragati Scholarship for Girls |
|
|
AICTE-Saksham Scholarship Scheme |
|
Up to INR 50,000 per year and other benefits (Diploma & Degree) |
Note: The scholarship amount is directly transferred into the bank account of the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
National Scholarship 2021-22 – Complete List of Private Scholarships
Besides the government-funded scholarships, there are various corporate organisations that offer national-level scholarships as part of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives to support students in need to continue their education. The table below highlights the list of top private scholarships along with their provider detail and application deadline.
National Scholarship 2021-22 – Private-funded Scholarship
Scholarship Name | Provider | Application Deadline* |
GSK Scholars Programme | GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (India) | 15 January 2022 |
Nikon Scholarship Program | Nikon India Private Limited | 15 December 2021 |
Schaeffler India COVID Crisis Support Scholarship | Schaeffler India | 15 December 2021 |
Rolls-Royce Unnati COVID Scholarship for Women in STEM | Rolls-Royce India | 31 December 2021 |
STFC India Meritorious Scholarship Programme | Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC) Limited | 31 December 2021 |
Ericsson Empowering Girl Scholarship Program | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, commonly known as Ericsson | 15 December 2021 |
Kotak Shiksha Nidhi | Kotak Education Foundation | 31 March 2022 |
Legrand Scholarship Program | Legrand India Pvt. Ltd. | 17 December 2021 |
Merck India Charitable Trust Scholarship Program | Merck India | 15 January 2022 |
Kotak Kanya Scholarship | Kotak Mahindra Group | 31 December 2022 |
Auxilo’s Edevate Scholarship Program | Auxilo Finserve Pvt. Ltd. | 15 December 2021 |
Virchow Scholarship Program | Virchow Foundation | 15 January 2022 |
*The application timeline mentioned above is tentative and may change at the discretion of the scholarship provider.
Private National Scholarship 2022 – Key Highlights
The eligibility criteria of scholarships from private organisations and the award amount allocated for different national scholarship schemes varies from each other. While a few scholarships look after the academic expenses of students, others offer financial aid in the form of one-time assistance. The table below provides a detailed overview of the financial assistance that students will get under each private-funded national scholarship along with their detailed eligibility criteria.
Private-funded National Scholarship – Key Highlights
Scholarship Name | Eligibility | Award Details |
GSK Scholars Programme |
|
Up to INR 1,00,000 per year |
Nikon Scholarship Program |
|
Up to INR 1 lakh |
Schaeffler India COVID Crisis Support Scholarship |
|
Up to INR 75,000 |
Rolls-Royce Unnati COVID Scholarship for Women in STEM |
|
INR 25,000 |
STFC India Meritorious Scholarship Programme |
Class 10 Passed
UG
|
|
Ericsson Empowering Girl Scholarship Program |
|
INR 75,000 per year |
Kotak Shiksha Nidhi |
|
School & college fees, library deposit, stationery and other expenses |
Legrand Scholarship Program |
|
60% of annual academic fees up to INR 60,000 per year |
Merck India Charitable Trust Scholarship Program |
|
INR 35,000 per year till graduation |
Kotak Kanya Scholarship |
|
Up to Rs. 1 lakh per year |
Auxilo’s Edevate Scholarship Program |
|
|
Virchow Scholarship Program |
|
|
National Scholarship 2021-22 – Where to Apply?
To avail of various government scholarships and help students apply for them, one needs to register on NSP via student login. Before applying for a scholarship, the students need to make sure that their current educational institution is registered on the portal. If the institution is not registered on the portal, the student would not be able to apply for any scholarship. The portal also has the provision for the institutions to register themselves, if not already registered.
Similarly, if one wants to apply for private scholarships from the above list, one needs to visit the respective official scholarship websites. Otherwise, they can directly go to the scholarship websites via Buddy4study and apply for it easily.
National Scholarship 2021-22 – Documents Required
For government scholarships, a candidate needs to upload the following documents along with their applications:
- Applicant’s bank account details with the IFSC code of the bank branch
- 10th and 12th passing certificates with valid documentation
- Scanned copy of bank passbook
- A valid Aadhaar card proof with the Aadhar number
- In absence of an Aadhaar card, a bonafide student certificate from the institute/school is a must
- If the institute or school is different from the domicile state of the applicant, then the student must carry a Bonafide student certificate from the institution where he/she studied
For private scholarships, the common documents required for the registration process include:
- Photo identity proof
- Address proof
- Class 12 mark sheet
- Aadhaar card
- Admission proof
- Income certificate
Apart from the above documents, applicants must check the respective scholarships for the other necessary documents required to complete the application process.
National Scholarship 2021-22 – FAQs
Can a student apply for both state scholarship and national scholarship in one year?
Yes, the students can apply for as many scholarships as they want, provided they fulfil their eligibility criteria. However, they can avail only one of the scholarships, if selected.
Can the applicant edit the information already saved and up to how many times?
The applicants can edit the draft/incomplete information as many times as they want. The application will be saved only when they click on the ‘Finally Submit’ option. Once the application is finally submitted, no further editing in the application form will be allowed.
What should the applicant do if his/her school or institute is not getting reflected while filling the online application form on NSP?
This can happen if the applicant’s institute has not updated the course level and course in which the applicant is studying. The students should contact their School/Institute Nodal Officer and request to update the course level and courses in the Institute's profile. They are also suggested to cross-check the complete name and address of the institute carefully, to avoid any conflict with institutes with similar names.
How can I change my mobile number on NSP?
The option of changing mobile numbers is available only to the renewal applicants. To change the mobile number, the applicant will have to answer a few questions. The details would then be matched with the ones stored on the NSP database. Upon a successful match, the applicants can change their mobile numbers.
Which are the fields that cannot be edited/changed on NSP?
Aadhaar number and enrollment Id are not editable at any stage. It is advisable to fill in the information carefully and submit it only after revising it well.