National Scholarship 2021-22 – Government and Private Scholarships

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

Scholarship Name	Provider	Application Timeline*
Pre-Matric Scholarships Scheme for Minorities	Ministry of Minority Affairs	Between August and November
Post Matric Scholarships Scheme for Minorities
Merit Cum Means Scholarship for Professional and Technical Courses CS
Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship
Pre-matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities	Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities	Between August and November
Post-matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities
Scholarships for Top Class Education for students with disabilities
Top Class Education Scheme for SC Students	Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment	Between August and November
Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna Scholarship for Andhra Pradesh	Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment	Between August and November
Financial Assistance for Education of the Wards of Beedi/Cine/IOMC/LSDM Workers – Post-Matric	Ministry of Labour and Employment	Between August and November
Financial Assistance for Education of the Wards of Beedi/Cine/IOMC/LSDM Workers – Pre-Matric	Ministry of Labour and Employment	Between August and November
National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students – Scholarship (Formally Top-Class Education for Schedule Tribe Students) – only for scholarships	Ministry of Tribal Affairs	Between August and November
National Means Cum Merit Scholarship	Department of School Education & Literacy	Between August and November
NEC Merit Scholarship for NER Region	North Eastern Council (NEC), DoNER
Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students	Department of Higher Education	Between August and November
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme for Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles	WARB, Ministry of Home Affairs	Between August and November
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme for Wards of States/UTS Police Personnel Martyred During Terror/Naxal Attacks	WARB, Ministry of Home Affairs	Between August and November
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme For RPF/RPSF	RPF/RPSF, Ministry of Railway	Between August and November
ISHAN UDAY – Special Scholarship Scheme for North Eastern Region	University Grants Commission (UGC)	Between August and November
PG Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child
PG Scholarship for University Rank Holders (1st and 2nd Rank Holders)
PG Scholarship Scheme for SC ST Students for Pursuing Professional Courses
Pragati Scholarship Scheme for Girls (Degree) for Technical Education	Ministry of Human Resource Development – AICTE	Between September and December
Pragati Scholarship Scheme for Girls (Diploma) for Technical Education
Saksham Scholarship Scheme for Differently Abled Students (Degree) for Technical Education
Saksham Scholarship Scheme for Differently Abled Students (Diploma) for Technical Education
AICTE – Swanath Scholarship Scheme (Technical Diploma/Degree)

*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	Open for students belonging to minority communities They must be studying from Classes 1 to 10 They must secure at least 50% marks in the previous qualifying examination The annual income of the family must be less than INR 1 lakh from all sources	Maintenance allowance, book grant, and disability allowance
Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Minorities	Open for minority community students studying from Class 11 to PhD level They must secure at least 50% marks in the previous qualifying examination The annual income of the family must be less than INR 2 lakh from all sources	Maintenance allowance, book grant, and disability allowance
Merit-cum-Means Scholarship for Professional and Technical Courses	Open for minority community students who are pursuing technical or professional courses at UG/PG level They must secure at least 50% marks or equivalent grade in the previous qualifying examination The annual family income must be less than INR 2.50 lakh from all sources They must get admission based on competitive entrance examination or have scored at least 50% in Class 12 or Graduation (in case of direct admission)	Up to INR 2 lakh per annum and other benefits
Pre-matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities	Open for disabled students who have more than 40% disability and a valid certificate for the same They must be studying in Class 9 or 10 The annual family income must be less than INR 2.50 lakh from all sources	Maintenance Allowance, Book Grant, and Disability Allowance
Post-matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities	Open for disabled students who have more than 40% disability and a valid certificate for the same They must have passed matriculation or higher secondary or any higher exam They must be pursuing studies in Class 11 to postgraduate level The annual family income must be less than INR 2.50 lakh from all sources	Maintenance Allowance, Book Grant, and Disability Allowance
Scholarships for Top Class Education for students with disabilities	Open for disabled students who have more than 40% disability and a valid certificate for the same They must be pursuing studies at the graduate/postgraduate/diploma level The annual family income must be less than INR 6 lakh from sources	Maintenance allowance, book grant, and disability allowance
Top Class Education for SC Students	Open for SC category students who have passed Class 12 They must have taken admission in a full-time course at the undergraduate or postgraduate level The annual income of the family must be less than INR 6 lakh from all sources	Full tuition fee and other allowance
Financial Assistance for Education of the Wards of Beedi/Cine/IOMC/LSDM Workers – Post-Matric	Open for candidates whose one or both parents are working as Beedi workers, Iron Ore, Manganese & Chrome Ore Mines, Limestone & Dolomite Mines (LSDM), Cine workers for at least the last six months. They must be pursuing a general or technical education at the post-matriculation level They must have passed the last examination on the first attempt The monthly family income must not exceed INR 10,000 (For Cine Workers, the family income must not exceed INR 8,000 pm or INR 1 lakh PA)	Up to INR 15,000
Financial Assistance for Education of the Wards of Beedi/Cine/IOMC/LSDM Workers – Pre-Matric	Open for candidates whose one or both parents are working as Beedi workers, Iron Ore, Manganese & Chrome Ore Mines, Limestone & Dolomite Mines (LSDM), Cine workers for at least the last six months. They must be studying between Classes 1 to 10 They must have passed the last examination in the first attempt The monthly family income must not exceed INR 10,000 (For Cine Workers, the family income must not exceed INR 8,000 pm or INR 1 lakh PA)	Up to INR 1,840
National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students	Open for ST category students only For Fellowship They must have passed postgraduation They must be admitted or registered in a full-time MPhil/PhD programme For Scholarship They must have taken admission in an institution notified and identified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs The annual income of the family must be less than INR 6 lakh from all sources	Up to INR 28,000 per month and other benefits
National Means cum Merit Scholarship	Open for students of Class 9 who have secured at least 55% marks or the equivalent of Class 8 examination To appear for the selection test, the students must have secured at least 55% marks or the equivalent of Class 7 examination The annual income of the family must be less than INR 1.50 lakh from all sources	INR 12,000 per annum
Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students	Open for Class 12 passed students who are pursuing a regular course such as medical and engineering from a recognized institution They must be above the 80th percentile of successful candidates in the relevant stream in Class 12 or equivalent of respective state examination boards The annual family income must be less than INR 8 lakh from all sources	Up to INR 20,000 per annum
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme	Open for dependent wards/widows of deceased CAPFs & AR/ Ex-CAPFs & AR/ retired and serving CAPFs & AR/ State Police Personnel They must be pursuing professional courses as specified in the notification They must fulfil the minimum education qualification They must have obtained at least 60% marks or above in the minimum educational qualification	INR 3,000 per month to female students INR 2,500 per month to male students
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme for RPF/RPSF	Open for dependent wards/widows of Ex-RPF/RPSF personnel They must be pursuing technical or professional degree courses They must have secured 60% or above in Minimum Educational Qualification (MEQ) i.e., Class 12, Diploma/Graduation	INR 2,250 per month for girls and INR 2,000 per month for boys
PG Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child	Open for girl students who are the only girl-child in their family Must be enrolled in the first year of full-time regular Master’s degree programme at a designated university/college The upper age limit is 30 years Girl students who have no brother or those who are twin daughters/fraternal daughters can also apply for this scholarship	INR 36,200 per annum for two years
PG Scholarship for University Rank Holders	Students pursuing postgraduate studies can apply They must be the first or second rank holder in their graduation examination with at least 60% marks The maximum age limit is 30 years They must have completed graduation in one of the specified disciplines	INR 3,100 per month for two years
PG Scholarship Scheme for SC/ST Students for Professional Courses	Open for SC/ST category students They must be studying in the first year of a professional course at the postgraduate level during the current academic year They must be studying at a recognized institution	For ME/MTech students – INR 7,800 per month for 2 years For other professional courses – INR 4,500 per month for 2 years
Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY)	Open for Indian students who are studying in India For SA Stream – They must be studying in Class 11 with at least 75% (65% for SC/ST/PWD) in Maths and Science subjects in the Class 10 board examination. For SX Stream – They must be studying in Class 12 with at least 75% (65% for SC/ST/PWD) in Maths and Science subjects in the Class 10 board examination For SB Stream – They must be studying in the first year of graduation in a basic Science-related course with at least 60% (50% for SC/ST/PWD) in Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology in Class 12 board examination	Up to INR 7,000 per month plus contingency grant
AICTE Pragati Scholarship for Girls	Open for girl students who are pursuing a technical diploma/degree course in the first year or second year (through lateral entry only) based on the percentage of marks obtained in the 10+2/equivalent examination The annual family income must be less than INR 8 lakh from all sources	Up to INR 7,800 per month (Degree) Up to INR 50,000 per year (Diploma)
AICTE-Saksham Scholarship Scheme	Open for specially-abled students having not less than 40% disability They must be admitted in the first year of degree/diploma level course or second year of degree/diploma level course through lateral entry in any of the AICTE approved institution The annual family income must be less than INR 8 lakh from all sources	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	Open for Indian nationals only Students must be pursuing the first year of the MBBS programme from government colleges in the academic year 2021-22 Applicants must have obtained at least 65% marks in Class 12 board examinations The annual family income of the applicants should be below INR 6,00,000 (6 lakh) from all sources	Up to INR 1,00,000 per year
Nikon Scholarship Program	Open for students pursuing photography-related courses with a duration of 3 months or more The students must have passed Class 12. The annual income of the family should be less than INR 6 lakhs)	Up to INR 1 lakh
Schaeffler India COVID Crisis Support Scholarship	Open for students from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu only Applicants who lost their parent(s) or earning family member since January 2020 due to COVID-19 can apply Applicants must be enrolled in the final year of the engineering program (all streams) at any state/UG recognized college in India Eligible engineering branches are Mechanical, Production Engineering, Instrumentation, Mechatronics, Automobile, Computer Science & Information Technology	Up to INR 75,000
Rolls-Royce Unnati COVID Scholarship for Women in STEM	Open for Indian residents only Students who have lost their parent(s)/earning family member due to the COVID-19 pandemic Applicants must be pursuing graduation (general & professional) courses in STEM subjects Applicants should be currently enrolled and continuing their education The annual family income of the applicant should be less than INR 6 Lakh from all sources	INR 25,000
STFC India Meritorious Scholarship Programme	Family income must be less than or equal to INR 4 Lakh per year Applicants must be the children/wards of commercial transport drivers/owner-cum-drivers only Class 10 Passed Must have passed Class 10 with at least 60% marks Applicants must be enrolled in an ITI/Polytechnic/Diploma course at a recognised institution in India UG Must have scored at least 60% marks in Class 10 and Class 12 Applicants must be enrolled in any year of a 3-year or 4-year graduation/engineering programme at a recognised university/college/institution in India	Class 10 Passed – Up to INR 15,000 (for 1 year) UG – INR 30,000 to 35,000 per year (max. 4 years)
Ericsson Empowering Girl Scholarship Program	Open for girl students across India only Applicants must have scored at least 6.5 GPA or equivalent marks in the previous final examination The annual family income of the applicant from all sources must not be more than INR 6 lakhs Engineering Students – Applicants must be studying in the 2nd year of the Engineering program in ICT streams (IT/CS) at state/UGC recognized colleges in India MBA Students – Applicants must be studying in the 2nd year of the MBA program at reputed colleges in India	INR 75,000 per year
Kotak Shiksha Nidhi	Students studying in schools and colleges across India falling under any of the below categories: Loss of both parents due to COVID-19 Loss of one of the parents due to COVID-19 Loss of the primary earning member of the family (other than parent) due to COVID-19 Applicants must be school or college going students from 1st standard up to Diploma or Graduation (ages 6 years to 22 years)	School & college fees, library deposit, stationery and other expenses
Legrand Scholarship Program	Open for Indian girls Must have passed Class 12 in 2021 Should have scored a minimum of 75% marks in Class 10 and Class 12 board exams Should be looking to start B.Tech/B.E./B.Arch. programme in the academic year 2021-22 at a recognized college/university in India Must have a total family income of less than INR 5 Lakh from all sources Students who lost their parents due to COVID-19 will be given preference	60% of annual academic fees up to INR 60,000 per year
Merck India Charitable Trust Scholarship Program	Open for students who have successfully passed Class 10 (SSC) with a minimum of 80% marks in 2021 Applicant’s family income must be less than or equal to INR 20,000 per month Only students who are currently residing and studying in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Bengaluru are eligible for this scholarship program	INR 35,000 per year till graduation
Kotak Kanya Scholarship	Open for girls in India Meritorious girl students who have secured admission to first-year graduation programmes from institutes of repute (NAAC/NBA/UGC accredited) for professional academic pursuits such as professional graduate courses like Engineering, Medicine, Architecture, Designing, Specialised Commerce, Finance and Computer courses or professional courses pursued alongside graduation like CA, CS, CFA, CWA, LLB Applicants must have scored 75% or more marks or equivalent CGPA in standard 12th board examinations Applicant’s annual family income must be INR 3 lakh (Rupees Three lakh) or less	Up to Rs. 1 lakh per year
Auxilo’s Edevate Scholarship Program	Open for PAN India students. Students who have lost their parent(s) / earning family member (s) since January 2020 Students who have lost their earning family members lost their employment (or livelihood) during the pandemic Applicants must be studying in Classes 9 to 12 or graduation and postgraduation courses Applicants should be currently enrolled and continuing their education The annual family income of the applicant from all sources should not be more than INR 6 lakhs	Class 9-12 – INR 24,000 UG & PG – INR 30,000
Virchow Scholarship Program	Open for girl students only Students must be residents of Telangana or Andhra Pradesh Applicants must be currently studying in Class 11 (any stream) or graduation/diploma (any stream) from government schools/colleges only after their Class 10 and 12 examinations Applicants must have scored at least 70% marks in their Class 10/12 examinations The annual family income of the applicants should be less than INR 6,00,000 (6 lakh) from all sources	Class 10 – Up to INR 10,000 Class 12 – Up to INR 15,000

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.