ST Scholarship
ST Scholarship is awarded to the students of scheduled tribe (ST) category by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. The objective of the ST scholarship is to provide financial assistance to these students to complete their studies at both school and college level. Some of the most popular ST scholarships are Pre-matric Scholarship, Post-matric Scholarship, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship, and Overseas Scholarship.
This article gives you comprehensive information about each ST scholarship such as its eligibility, application process, award details, selection criteria, etc. Pick the scholarships that match your credentials and apply for them as specified.
How many ST scholarships are available? When is the right time to apply for an ST scholarship? The following table provides critical information on all the types of scholarships available for ST students in India along with other information like application timeline and number of scholarships. This will help the students to be well informed and prepared before the application deadline.
S.No | Scholarship | Tentative application time* | No. of scholarships |
1 | Post-matric Scholarship | May-June | NA |
2 | Pre-matric Scholarship | May-June | NA |
3 | National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students | August-November | Scholarships – 1,000 Fellowships – 750 |
4 | National Overseas Fellowship for ST | December (in an academic year) | 20 |
*Subject to change
This ST scholarship is centrally-funded and implemented by the state governments. The students who fulfil the prescribed eligibility criteria for the scholarship can apply. The awards are fully funded by the central government and administered by the state governments. The applications are made online through the national scholarship portal.
The scholarship award to the ST students based on the courses they are enrolled into are as follows:
Courses | Scholarship allowance- Day scholars | Scholarship allowance- Hostellers |
Group I– (I) Degree and postgraduate such as MPhil, Ph.D., postdoctoral research in medicine, engineering, technology, planning, architecture etc. (II) Commercial pilot license (III) Postgraduate diploma courses in management and medicine (IV) CA/ICWA/CS/ICFA etc. (V) MPhil, Ph.D., postdoctoral programs (VI) LLM | INR 1,200 | INR 500 |
Group II– (I) Graduate and postgraduate degree leading to a diploma, degree, and a certificate in Nursing, LLB, BFS etc. (II) Postgraduate courses not covered in Group I | INR 820 | INR 530 |
Group III– all other courses not covered in Group I and II | INR 570 | INR 300 |
Group IV– Post-matriculation level non-degree courses such as ITI, Polytechnic | INR 380 | INR 230 |
This is a central sector scheme that combines the ‘Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF) for ST Students’ and ‘Top Class Education Scheme for ST Students’. Funded by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, this scheme is open to ST students who are pursuing regular and full-time professional courses at graduate/postgraduate level and MPhil/PhD level. A total of 750 slots are available for the fellowship and 1,000 slots for the scholarship.
The maximum duration of fellowship for candidates pursuing M.Phil. is 2 years or the date of dissertation (whichever is earlier), whereas the maximum duration of fellowship for candidates pursuing a PhD is 5 years or the date of viva-voce (whichever is earlier). However, if a candidate pursues PhD after M.Phil., the fellowship duration will be 5 years (2 years for M.Phil. and 3 years for PhD). The financial assistance offered under the fellowship includes –
ST Scholarships – Fellowship Details
S.No. | Particulars | Details |
1. | Fellowship amount | For M.Phil. – INR 25,000 per month For PhD – INR 28,000 per month |
2. | Annual contingency grant | For M.Phil. – INR 10,000 (For Humanities & Social Sciences) and INR 12,000 (For Science, Engineering & Technology) For PhD – INR 20,500 (For Humanities & Social Sciences) and INR 25,000 (For Science, Engineering and Technology) |
3. | HRA | As per the rules of University/Colleges/Institutions |
4. | Escorts/Reader Assistance | INR 2,000 per month for physically handicapped and blind candidates (for all subjects) |
The financial assistance offered under the scholarship includes –
The scheme provides financial assistance to students pursuing higher studies at Masters, PhD or postdoctoral level research programmes abroad. There are 20 scholarships awarded to ST students. 30% of total scholarships are allotted to female applicants. The awardees are requested to come to India after finishing the studies. The stay can be extended for a maximum of 2 years with permission from the Indian Government and Indian Mission abroad.
There are 4 passage grants for ST students who are already in receipt of merit scholarship for post-graduate studies, research or training abroad from a foreign government where the cost of passage is not provided.
S.No | Courses | No of fellowships |
1 | Engineering | 7 |
2 | Management | |
3 | Economic/Finance | |
4 | Pure Science | 3
|
5 | Applied science | |
6 | Agriculture | 5 5 |
7 | Medicine | |
8 | Humanities & social science | 5 |
The following table describes information on the maintenance allowance and other benefits prescribed under the scheme:
Allowances | Other benefits |
US- annual maintenance allowance is USD 15,400 for all level of courses | Poll tax, visa fees, incidental journey expenses, medical expenses, travel costs etc. |
UK- annual maintenance allowance is GBP 9,900 for all level of courses |
Pre-matric ST Scholarship will help the pre-matric students of Class IX and X in progressing to their post-matric stage of education and excel in their overall studies. This will help the financially constrained students and also reduce dropouts at this stage. This scholarship will be awarded to the students by the state government in which they are domiciled.
The following table describes the value of scholarship awarded in this scheme to the ST students:
Scholarship | Day scholars | Hostellers | Allowance for disabled students- Types | Amount of allowance for disabled students |
Scholarship for 10 months | INR 150 | INR 350 | Monthly reader allowance | INR 160 |
Books and ad hoc grants | INR 750 | INR 1,000 | Monthly transport allowance | INR 160 |
Monthly helper allowance | INR 160 | |||
Monthly escort allowance | INR 160 | |||
Monthly helper allowance | INR 160 | |||
Monthly coaching allowances to retarded students | INR 240 |
All eligible students belonging to ST category can avail this scholarship
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