Post Matric Scholarships Scheme for Minorities

The cost of pursuing an engineering course from a recognized college/university usually ranges in Lakhs. Either a government college or a private college, a majority of students find it difficult to meet the costly expenses of the course and there is a need for financial aid. To help such students, there are scholarships for engineering students, that play a crucial role in funding their overall education expenses.

To support these aspiring engineers, pursue their dream education, a number of universities, private organizations and corporates are offering various scholarships. One such Scholarship for Engineering Students to support students under minority is Post Matric Scholarships Scheme.

What is Post Matric Scholarships Scheme?

Post Matric Scholarships Scheme is a scholarship provided by Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India for students of class 11 to PhD belonging to the minority communities.

The Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities was announced in June 2006. It provides that a post-matric scholarship scheme for meritorious students from minority communities would be implemented.

The Government of India, under this scheme, offers help to students so that they can pursue higher education. This Scholarship focuses on students belonging to minority communities such as Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Zoroastrians/Parsis.

The objective of the scheme is to award scholarships to meritorious students belonging to economically weaker sections of minority community so as to provide them better opportunities for higher education, increase their rate of attainment in higher education and enhance their employability.

Scope

The scholarship is to be awarded for studies in India in a government or private higher secondary school/college/university, including such residential institutes of the Government and eligible private institutes selected and notified in a transparent manner by the State Government/Union Territory Administration concerned.

It will also cover technical and vocational courses in Industrial Training Institutes/ Industrial Training Centres affiliated with the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) of classes XI and XII level including Polytechnics and other courses (any course of less than one year duration is not covered under this scheme; Certificate courses are also not covered).

Eligibility of Post Matric Scholarships Scheme:

To apply for the scholarship, a candidate should meet the following criteria:

1. The applicant must be studying in class 11th, 12th or pursuing graduation/post graduation in technical or vocational courses, M.Phil or PhD.
2. The student must have a score of at least 50% or equivalent grades in the last/previous final examination.
3. The candidate must belong to the family having an annual income less than or equal to ₹2 lakhs from all the sources.
4. Applicant must belong to the minority community (Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, and Zoroastrian/Parsi).

Distribution:

Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jain and Zoroastrians (Parsis) have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. A total of five (05) lakh scholarships are targeted to be distributed as ‘Fresh’ Scholarships, besides, Renewal scholarships.

The distribution of scholarship among the States/Union Territories will be made on the basis of the population of minorities in the States/Union Territories as per Census 2001 for 2017-18 and as per the population of minorities in the States/Union Territories of Census 2011 for 2018-19 and 2019-20 (as per Appendices- A & B).

Earmarking:

30% scholarship is earmarked for girls students of each minority community in a State/UT which is transferable to male students of that community in case of non-availability of female students in that community in the concerned State/UT. 30% is the floor and not the ceiling for eligible girl students.

If the physical target of scholarship for a particular minority community in a state/UT is not utilized, it will be distributed among the same minority community in other States/UTs strictly in accordance with merit and without disturbing the national ratio. Any unutilized community quota shall be distributed amongst other communities again in accordance with merit and without affecting the overall national quota.

A student residing in a particular State/UT will be entitled to scholarship under the quota of that State/UT only irrespective of his/her place of study.

How to Apply for Post Matric Scholarships Scheme?

The scheme is implemented through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP). It is mandatory for all students to apply online on the website i.e. www.scholarships.gov.in.

Follow the below steps to apply for the scholarship:

Step 1: Click on New Student? Register Here on the official website of the National Scholarship Portal.
Step 2: Go through the instructions and click on ‘continue’. You will be directed to a Scholarship registration page to register. Fill in the required details, including the bank account details and click on ‘Register’.
Step 3: The mobile number will be verified through the OTP, generated.
Step 4: Login using OTP and fill the application form.
Step 5: An application ID and password will be generated. Use that for the future references.

Note: All the applicants are advised to fill the form correctly, no changes can be made once the application is submitted. Also, the applicants are advised to fill only one application as multiple applications will lead to the cancellation of the form.

Fresh Application – As the number of scholarships for minorities available in a year is fixed and limited, it is necessary to lay down preference for selection. Inter-se-selection weight age is to be given to poverty rather than marks (the applicant is required to submit an income certificate as per para-11(ii)). In case of same income, merit shall be generated from ‘Date of Birth’ criteria of the applicant (senior is preferred).

Renewal Application – There is no merit list generation for renewal cases. Renewal applicant will
get the scholarship if one has obtained 50% in his/her previous year’s examinations (at the same institute and in the same course) and his/her application is verified by all authorities (as designated by Ministry of Minority Affairs) and approved by State Governments/UTs.

Instruction related to Bank Account (to be filled in the online application form)

• Students must select their bank/branch name carefully from the drop-down list.
• Thereafter the complete account no. must be entered correctly. Students are suggested to get their account number verified by their concerned Bank Branch including Bank account number and IFS Code.
• Disclaimer (*If bank details entered by students are found incorrect or not validated by the student’s bank, the scholarship will be cancelled/amount will not be transferred even though the application is approved for scholarship).
• Bank Account holders must check their ‘Know your Customer’ (KYC) status from a bank and if required the KYC must be done for successful transaction of scholarship amount.
• Bank Account must be operational/active till the scholarship is disbursed.
• Bank Account must be preferably in any scheduled Bank with core banking facility and proper IFS Code.
• Bank Account must be in the name of the student/applicant only.

Awards and Benefits of Post Matric Scholarships Scheme:

Actual financial assistance will be provided for admission & course /tuition fee and maintenance allowance as given below subject to a maximum ceiling indicated against item concerned for 2017-20. The details of the scheme interventions for 2017-18 to 2019-20 are as under:

Duration of Scholarship

The scholarships shall be provided for the entire course of the academic year. Maintenance allowance will be given as fixed lump sum amount in an academic year (as per para-9 below) for 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Terms and Conditions:

• The scholarship will be awarded to the students who have scored marks greater than or equal to 50% marks or equivalent grade in the last final exam and the annual income of whose parents/guardian from all sources does not exceed Rs.2.00 lakh.
• Students from BPL families, having the lowest income shall be given preference in the ascending order.
• The award or benefits will be discontinued if a student fails to secure 50% marks or equivalent grade in the previous final examination.
• The scholarship will be awarded only for the normal period of time taken to obtain Certificate/ Degree/M. Phil Degree/ Doctorate Degree.
• Scholarships will not be given to more than two students in a family.
• The students should be regular in attendance for which the yardstick will be decided by the competent authority of the school/college/university.
• Migration of students from one school/institute to another is not allowed for renewal applicants during the period of academic course.
• If a student violates any term and condition of the scholarship, the scholarship may be suspended or cancelled.
• If a student is found to have obtained a scholarship by false statement/certificates, his/her scholarship will be cancelled immediately and the amount of the scholarship paid shall be recovered, at the discretion of the concerned State Government/Union Territory Administration.
• Course fee/tuition fee and maintenance allowance will be credited directly to the students’ bank account.
• The State Government/Union Territory Administration will maintain a separate account and records relating to the funds received from the Ministry and they will be subjected to inspection by the officers of the Ministry or any other agency designated by the Ministry.
• The student obtaining benefits under this scholarship scheme shall not be allowed to avail of the benefits under any other scholarship scheme implemented by State Government/UT Administration, for the same purpose.
• The State Government/Union Territory Administration shall constitute a committee of the departments implementing such scholarship schemes to ensure that the students from the minority community, who may also belong to SC/ST/OBC category, does not avail scholarship from other sources for the same purpose and avail only from one source.
• The State/Union Territory shall place all relevant details of financial and physical achievements on their website.
• The regulations can be changed at any time at the discretion of the Government of India
  It will be necessary for the eligible applicants to provide Aadhaar number while applying for the scholarship and in case, an individual does not possess Aadhaar one can provide the details of alternative identification documents, as stated in the Gazette Notification – S.O. No. 1284 (E) No. 1137, dated 21.04.2017.
• Students who have entered Aadhaar in their online application correctly and Aadhaar seeded with any of their bank accounts, in such cases the amount of scholarship will be credited to Aadhaar seeded bank account only (though the student has mentioned any other non-seeded bank account in the online application).

Documents required for the Post Matric Scholarships Scheme: