Scholarships for Girls and Women in India 2026-27 – Important Dates, Eligibility & Awards

Several scholarships for girl students are accepting applications for 2026-27. The Kotak Kanya Scholarship (₹1.5 lakh per year for professional degrees) closes on September 30, 2026. The Santoor Women’s Scholarship for government-school graduates in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra closes on October 15, 2026. AICTE Pragati and Dr. Reddy’s Sashakt close on October 31, 2026. The Legrand Scholarship is open. Azim Premji Scholarship Round 2 runs from January 10 to 31, 2027. Infosys STEM Stars, L’Oréal and NSPG are expected later this cycle.

Scholarships for Girls 2026-27: Important Dates

Upcoming Scholarships for Girls in 2026-27

Scholarships for Girls in India 2026-27: Complete List

What Has Changed in Scholarships for Girls This Year

• Single Girl Child PG Scholarship merged: The PG Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child is now part of the National Scholarship for Post Graduate Studies (NSPGS). The award has increased to ₹15,000 per month.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal Scholarship discontinued: The Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship has been discontinued. The Maulana Azad Education Foundation, which ran it, has been closed.
• Women Scientist Scheme restructured: DST’s Women Scientist Scheme has been re-organised into the WISE-KIRAN fellowships.
• CBSE Single Girl Child Scholarship revised: The scholarship now pays ₹1,000 per month. The minimum Class 10 score is 70%.
• Azim Premji Scholarship expanded: Andhra Pradesh and Delhi have been added. The scholarship now covers 21 States and Union Territories.

Scholarships for Girls After 12th

Following is the list of scholarships for girl students studying in Class 12 –

Azim Premji Scholarship 2026-27

Eligibility: Applicants must have completed both Class 10 and Class 12 as regular students from a government school or college located in one of the 21 specified States or Union Territories: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, or Uttarakhand.

Applicants must be enrolled in the first year of their first recognised undergraduate degree or diploma course, with a duration of 2 to 5 years. The institution may be either government or private, located anywhere in India.

Selection & Ineligibility Conditions:

• Selection is made regardless of academic marks, household income, caste, or religion.
• Individuals are ineligible to apply if they currently receive, or have previously received, any Wipro scholarship (such as the Santoor Scholarship).
• Individuals who have secured admission to Azim Premji University are also ineligible.

Award: Selected students receive ₹30,000 per year for the full duration of their course. For a five-year course, this comes to ₹1.5 lakh.

Application Timeline

Kotak Kanya Scholarship 2026-27

Eligibility: Applicants must have secured at least 75% marks, or an equivalent CGPA, in Class 12, and their annual family income must not exceed ₹6 lakh. They must be admitted to the first year of an eligible professional degree course for the 2026–27 academic year at an institution accredited by NAAC or ranked under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Eligible fields of study include Engineering, MBBS, 5-year Integrated LLB, Integrated BS-MS or BS-Research at IISc or an IISER, Design, and Architecture. Additionally, children of employees of the Kotak Group, the Kotak Education Foundation, and Buddy4Study are ineligible to apply.

Award: Selected students receive ₹1.5 lakh per year until they complete their degree. The money can be used for tuition, hostel fees, internet, transport, a laptop, books and stationery.

Last date: September 30, 2026

Santoor Women’s Scholarship 2026-27

Eligibility: This scholarship is open to girls from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. You must have passed Class 10 from a local government school. You must have passed Class 12 from a government school or junior college in 2025-26. You must be enrolled in an undergraduate programme starting in 2026-27.

Students who want to study humanities, liberal arts or science are especially encouraged to apply. Girls from backward districts get preference. Scholars from Telangana, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh who were selected in earlier years will continue to receive support until they graduate.

Award: The scholarship supports 1,000 girls this year. Each selected student receives ₹30,000 per year until she completes her course. The money can be used for tuition fees or other education expenses.

Last date: October 15, 2026

Legrand Empowering Scholarship Program 2026-27

Eligibility: This scholarship is for girl students in the first year of an undergraduate degree in India who passed Class 12 in 2025-26. Your family’s annual income from all sources must be below ₹5 lakh. There are two categories. In the general category, you need at least 80% marks in both Class 10 and Class 12. The special category requires at least 70% in both, and exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis. The special category is open to:

Differently-abled girl students	Orphans
Students who lost a parent to Covid	Neurodivergent students
LGBTQ+ students	Girls whose parents are differently abled
Students with a single parent

Award: General-category scholars receive 80% of their annual course fee, up to ₹80,000 per year. Special-category scholars receive 80% of their annual course fee, up to ₹1 lakh per year. Support continues until the student completes her course, subject to academic performance.

Scholarships for Girls in Engineering and Technical Courses 2026-27

AICTE Pragati Scholarship 2026-27

Eligibility: Applicants must be female students enrolled in the first year of an AICTE-approved technical degree or diploma course, or in the second year via lateral entry. Admission must be secured through a centralised State or Central Government counselling process; students admitted under the management quota are ineligible. The applicant’s annual family income must not exceed ₹8 lakh. A maximum of two female students from the same family can receive this scholarship.

Award: AICTE awards 5,000 scholarships a year to degree students and 5,000 a year to diploma students. Each scholar receives ₹50,000 per year through Direct Benefit Transfer.

Application Timeline

Schaeffler India HOPE Engineering Scholarship

Eligibility: This scholarship is for girl students in the first year of engineering at a UGC-, State Government- or AICTE-recognised college. You need at least 60% marks in Class 12 (Science), or 40% if you have a disability. Your parents’ annual income must not exceed ₹5 lakh. Students with disabilities get preference.

Award: Selected scholars receive ₹50,000 per year for four years, along with mentorship from Schaeffler India professionals.

Status: Applications for the 2026 cycle have closed.

Scholarships for Girls in Science and STEM 2026-27

Dr. Reddy’s Foundation Sashakt Scholarship 2026

Eligibility: This scholarship is for girl students enrolled in a B.Sc. (pure or natural sciences), B.Tech or MBBS programme at one of the colleges on the foundation’s list. You must submit a confirmed admission offer from a listed college with your application. Girls from rural and economically weaker backgrounds get preference.

Award: Selected scholars receive ₹80,000 per year for three years, a total of ₹2.4 lakh. The money covers tuition, study expenses and basic living costs. Each scholar is also mentored by a leading woman scientist.

Last date: October 31, 2026

Infosys Foundation STEM Stars Scholarship

Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled in the first year of an undergraduate STEM course at an NIRF-accredited institution. Second-year B.Arch students and students in five-year integrated or dual-degree programs are also eligible to apply. Female students pursuing engineering or medicine at government colleges are eligible, even if the institution is not ranked in the NIRF. The applicant’s annual family income must not exceed ₹8 lakh.

Award: Selected students receive up to ₹1 lakh per year for the full duration of the course. The amount is paid against actual expenses such as tuition, study materials and living costs.

Status: To be announced

vivo KanyaGyaan Scholarship

Eligibility: This scholarship is for girl students in the first or second year of a full-time undergraduate STEM course, such as B.Tech, B.E., B.Sc. or BCA, at an NIRF-recognised institution. Government colleges get preference. You need at least 70% marks in Class 10, Class 12 and your most recent semester. Your parents’ annual income must not exceed ₹5 lakh. You cannot already be receiving full funding from another scholarship.

Award: Selected students receive ₹60,000 per year, renewable for up to three years.

Status: To be announced.

L’Oréal India For Young Women in Science Scholarship

Eligibility: The undergraduate applicants must have secured at least 85% marks in Class 12 (Science) and be pursuing a science-related degree. Postgraduate applicants must have achieved at least 60% in their undergraduate degree and be enrolled in a science-related postgraduate course; however, final-year postgraduate students are ineligible to apply. In both cases, the applicant’s annual family income must not exceed ₹6 lakh. Eligible fields include:

Pure sciences	Medicine
Life sciences	Pharmacology
Applied sciences	Cosmetic science
Engineering

Children of employees of L’Oréal India and Buddy4Study cannot apply.

Award: Selected students receive up to ₹1 lakh, depending on their level of study.

Status: Dates for the 2026-27 cycle have not been announced yet.

Scholarship for Single Girl Child in India

Girls who are single children can get support at two stages of education.

Class 11 and 12: The CBSE Merit Scholarship for Single Girl Child pays ₹1,000 per month. For this scheme, a single girl child is a girl who is the only child of her parents. Twin daughters also qualify.

Postgraduate: The National Scholarship for Post Graduate Studies pays ₹15,000 per month and gives preference to single girl children. For this scheme, a single girl child is the only girl in the family, with no brothers or sisters. Twin or fraternal daughters also qualify.

Full details of both scholarships are given in their own sections of this article.

Scholarships for Girls for Postgraduate Studies

National Scholarship for Post Graduate Studies (NSPGS)

Eligibility: Applicants must be admitted to the first year of a PG programme in regular, full-time mode. Distance-mode students are not eligible. Students must be below 30 years of age at the time of admission. Applicants cannot already hold a postgraduate degree. There is no family income limit. Applicants can receive only one scholarship at a time.

Award: Selected students receive ₹15,000 per month for 10 months a year. There are 10,000 seats every year, and 30% are reserved for women, with preference to single girl children. Half the seats are for Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and Management. The other half are for Science, Engineering, Technology, Medical, Agriculture and related fields.

The scheme merges four earlier PG scholarships:

• the single girl child scholarship
• the university rank holder scholarship
• the SC/ST professional course scholarship
• the GATE/GPAT scholarship

Status: Applications are expected to open soon on the National Scholarship Portal.

Fellowships for Women Scientists and Researchers

WISE Post-Doctoral Fellowship (WISE-PDF)

Eligibility: This fellowship is for women scientists and technologists aged 27 to 60 who hold a PhD and want to do research in basic or applied sciences. Women in regular employment cannot apply. Women in temporary research or academic positions can apply, but they must leave that position if their project is approved.

Award: The fellowship pays ₹67,000 per month. It also provides a research grant of ₹2 lakh per year and up to ₹3 lakh for small equipment. Proposals are accepted throughout the year.

WISE Fellowship for PhD (WISE-PhD)

Eligibility: This fellowship is for women aged 27 to 45 who want to do a PhD in basic or applied sciences. SC, ST and PH candidates get a three-year relaxation in the upper age limit.

Award: Support is available for up to five years.

Status: DST will announce the next call on its website.

State Government Scholarships for Girls

Pudhumai Penn Scheme (Tamil Nadu)

Eligibility: This scheme is for girls who studied from Class 6 to Class 12 in Tamil Nadu government schools and are now pursuing their first undergraduate degree, diploma or ITI course. There is no income limit. Students at private colleges are eligible. Distance and correspondence courses are not covered.

Award: Eligible students receive ₹1,000 per month for the full duration of their course.

Can You Get More Than One Scholarship at a Time?

How to Apply for Scholarships for Girls After 12th

Documents Required for Scholarships for Girls

Scholarships for Girls in India: FAQs

Which scholarships for girls are open right now?

Kotak Kanya is open until September 30, 2026, and Santoor until October 15, 2026. AICTE Pragati and Dr. Reddy’s Sashakt are both open until October 31, 2026. The Legrand Scholarship is also open. Azim Premji Round 2 opens on January 10, 2027.

Which is the best scholarship for girls after 12th?

It depends on your situation:

• Government-school students in the 21 eligible States and UTs: The Azim Premji Scholarship pays ₹30,000 a year, and selection does not depend on marks.
• Students entering professional degrees: Kotak Kanya offers the highest amount, at ₹1.5 lakh a year.
• Students in AICTE-approved technical courses: Pragati pays ₹50,000 a year.

Is there a scholarship for a single girl child in 2026?

Yes, at two levels. The CBSE scheme pays ₹1,000 per month in Class 11 and 12. For postgraduate students, NSPGS pays ₹15,000 per month and gives preference to single girl children.

Which scholarships are available for girls in engineering?

Key scholarship options for female B.Tech students include Kotak Kanya (₹1.5 lakh/year) and Infosys STEM Stars (up to ₹1 lakh/year). Legrand and Dr. Reddy’s Sashakt offer up to ₹80,000 annually, while AICTE Pragati and Schaeffler HOPE provide ₹50,000 per year.

Are there scholarships for girls in arts and humanities?

Yes. Azim Premji covers any undergraduate degree or diploma. Santoor encourages humanities and liberal arts students to apply. Half of all NSPGS seats are reserved for Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and Management.

Is the Begum Hazrat Mahal Scholarship still available?

No. It has been discontinued. Any website still inviting applications for it is out of date.

Do I have to pay to apply for these scholarships?

No. Every scholarship listed here is free to apply for. Never pay an agent to submit a form for you.