Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students

Central Sector Scholarship is one of the largest scholarship schemes in India launched by the central government towards helping students pursue higher education courses. The scholarship scheme is run by the combination of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD). Under this scholarship programme, the government of India aimed to offer scholarships around 82,000 students every year for pursuing graduate or postgraduate studies in colleges as well as universities and for professional courses, such as Medical, Engineering.

The financial support under the Central Sector Scholarship is meant for those students who need and belong from low-income families. The students who are not able to get higher education due to the high cost of education will get benefits from this scheme. The central Sector scholarship is the best scheme as well as opens for all categories of students. So, the students belong to general as well as reserved category candidates can apply for this scholarship based on their merit. When the fund is allocated under this scheme, reservation criteria will be followed. The application made for this scholarship must need to get verified from the concerned educational institution as well as the respective Class 12 board.

Key Features

There are a total of 82,000 scholarships aimed by the government of India to offer annually under this plan.

• There are equal seats for boys and girls under this scheme.
• There are 41,000 seats for each gender.
• This scheme will be beneficial for those students whose age is between 18 to 25 years
• Under this scheme, the scholarship amount up to Rs 20,000 per annum will be provided to the students.
• This scheme is available for general as well as reserved category students.
• The student who will belong to the top 20 percentile in their respective Class 12 Central or State Board will get benefits from this scheme.
• The application can be made through the National Scholarship Portal.
• Under this scheme, scholarships will be provided to State Education Boards in the ratio of 3:2:1 among the pass-outs of Science, Commerce as well as Arts, respectively.

Eligibility Criteria

The benefits of the Central Sector Scholarship scheme can be taken by only meritorious students who have passed their 12th class as well as are pursuing any regular full-time under-graduate level programme or postgraduate level program. Under this scheme scholarship will be not provided to the students who are pursuing their UG or PG programme in distance mode or correspondence mode. The students have to fulfil the below-mentioned criteria to get the benefits from this scheme.

• To get scholarship under this plan, the students must belong to meritorious students and have scored above 80th percentile in their Class 12 board level exams.
• The student who is applying for this scheme must have taken admission to a regular graduation or post-graduation course in any recognized college or institution in the country.
• The annual income of the family of the student not more than Rs 8 Lakh.
• The students must be not getting benefits from any other government scholarship scheme.
• The candidate must be pursuing any regular courses of graduation or post-graduation or professional studies from colleges or universities recognized by AICTE, UGC, MCI, DCI, or other regulatory bodies.

Award Details and Scholarship Amount

The scholarship amount that will be offered under this scheme varies depending on the level of study of students. The time of scholarship for which it would be provided depends on the type of course that an applicant is enrolled. For example, if the students in graduation may receive the scholarship for three years, that is the full duration of the program. Similarly, for a B.Tech programme, the scholarship will be provided for a continuous period of 4 years. Award details and scholarship amount under Central Sector Scholarship scheme are mentioned below:

Application Process for Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students

The students are allowed to make an application for the Central Sector Scheme through National Scholarship Portal Only. The process of an application under this plan is similar to any other application process on the NSP. At first, the students have to register as a new user and then need to apply to the scholarship that they want to apply. In this way, students must opt for Central Sector Scholarship Scheme. Here are mentioned all the steps that the students need to follow for filing the Central Sector Scholarship.

1. At first, the students have to register at the National Scholarship Portal as a new user.

2. After this, you have to log in with username and password.

3. Now the candidates have to enter all required personal details in the application form.

4. Now the applicants have to provide their bank account details and Aadhaar Number for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

5. Now they have to submit the application form.

7. After this verification process will be completed through the institute.

8. After completion of the verification process, you will be able to get the scholarship under this scheme.

Documents Required

Here are mentioned some necessary documents that the candidates must have to submit at the time of registration under the Central Sector Scheme.

• The candidates must have to submit Aadhaar Card. If Aadhaar is not available then the candidate can submit any other alternatives ID like Aadhaar enrolment ID slip, application made for Aadhaar enrolment, voter ID card, driving license, PAN, passport, etc.,
• The applicants have to submit the class 12th mark sheet,
• The students must have to submit annual Income Proof,
• The candidates must have to provide the bank account details so that the amount of the scholarship will be directly transferred to their bank account through DBT. 

How to track scholarship disbursal?

The students can track scholarship disbursal through Public Financial Management System (PFMS) portal. This portal is the central portal for disbursal of all monetary benefits through DBT. 

For tracking the scholarship disbursal, students have to go to the “Know Your Payments” section on the PFMS official website and then login using the bank account number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is eligible to avail Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students?

All the students who are pursuing under-graduation or post-graduation level studies in any recognized institution in India are eligible to avail Central Sector Scholarship that is provided by the government. The students must belong to the top 20 percentile successful students in their Class 12 Board.

Q: Are there is any limited number of scholarships under this scheme?

No, each exam board gets a fixed number of seats under the central sector scholarship. The reservation is decided based on the amount of student population on different boards.

Q: What is the amount of Scholarship provided under this Scheme?

The amount of scholarship for under-graduation studies is Rs 10,000 per year. The amount of scholarship for the Post-Graduation level is Rs 20,000 per year.

Q: Is this Central Sector Scholarship scheme is available for all categories of students?

Yes, this scholarship scheme is open for all categories of students general as well as reserved. However, the total number of seats that are allocated under this scheme is 82000 and equally divided among girls and boys. The reservation policy is applied when selecting the scholars under each state board.

Q: Is there any process for the renewal of the scholarship for the successive academic year?

Yes, the beneficiaries have to renew their application on National Scholarship Portal as well as submit their Latest mark sheet and Attendance Record showcasing their eligibility for restitution of the scholarship.