NSP National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme 2024 is an initiative of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India for students enrolled in Class 9 in government, government-aided, and local body schools. The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to meritorious students belonging to the EWS category to detain their dropouts at Class 8 and encourage them to continue their studies at the secondary stage. The selected candidates will receive a scholarship of ₹12,000 per annum.
Eligibility
To be eligible, an applicant must:-
- be an Indian national
- be enrolled in Class 9 in a government, government-aided or local body school
- have secured at least 60% of marks or equivalent grades in Class 8 (Note:- Relaxation of 5% will be given to SC/ST students.)
- have an annual family income of less than ₹3,50,000 from all sources
Benefits
Selected scholars will receive ₹12,000 per annum (₹1,000 per month).
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A total of 1,00,000 scholarships will be awarded under this scheme. These scholarships will be disbursed directly to the students’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Renewal Criteria:
- To continue receiving the scholarship through Class 12, students must:
- achieve a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent grades in Class 10
- be promoted on the first attempt in each subsequent class
- SC/ST students will receive a 5% relaxation in the minimum marks requirement.
Documents
- Academic transcripts including marksheets & certificates of previous qualifying examination
- An income certificate issued by a competent authority
- Caste certificate (if applicable)
- Aadhaar card
- Bank details of Aadhaar-seeded account
- Disability certificate (if applicable)
How can you apply?
Eligible applicants can apply for the scholarship through the following steps:-
Step 1: Click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below.
Step 2: Click on the ‘Register’ button and fill in the required registration details. (Note:- If already registered, log in using Gmail/Mobile number/Email ID).
Step 3: Navigate to the ‘Students’ option on the left-hand side of the dashboard and click on it.
Step 4: Now, click on the ‘Login’ button under the OTR option as it is required to apply for a scholarship on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP).
Step 5: Click on the ‘New user? Register yourself’ on the left-hand side of the dashboard and click on it.
Step 6: Read the details carefully, tick the checkbox, and click on the ‘Next’ button.
Step 7: Enter a functional mobile number, captcha code, and OTP, then submit to complete the registration process.
Step 8: Fill in the required details and click on ‘Save & Register’ to complete the ‘One-time registration (OTR)’ process. (Note:- This is a temporary registration number, students need to download the OTR mobile application for face authentication to complete the OTR process.)
Step 9: After successful registration, navigate to the ‘Apply for Scholarship’ option and click on the ‘Login’ button.
Step 10: Select the scholarship, fill in the required details, upload the necessary documents and submit.
Note:- All the applicants are advised to fill in the information correctly on the application form. Once the application is submitted, no changes can be made. Additionally, submitting multiple applications will result in disqualification.
Important Dates
Application Deadline: 31st August 2024
Selection Criteria
- Mental Ability Test (MAT)
- Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
Each test will be 90 minutes long. Students with disabilities will be given additional time as per the relevant guidelines.
Students must secure a minimum score of 40% in each test to qualify for the scholarship. (Note:- The minimum score is relaxed by 8% for Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) students.)
Terms and Conditions
- Scholarships are not available for studies abroad for any course.
- Claims for scholarship arrears or cases where a gap of one academic session occurs in studies won’t be considered after 12 months of the academic session for which the claim was applied for.
- If a student leaves their course within one month of registration, they won’t receive a scholarship.
- In case of serious illness preventing a student from appearing for an annual exam, a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner (clearly specifying illness duration) must be submitted to the institution’s head within three months. Resuming the same course is possible if the principal certifies their overall performance for the year as very good.
- Students must join the next class or desired course within 3 months of the prior class/course results being declared.
- All scholarship rules are subject to change at any time.
- Awardees must be promoted to the next class without a repeat year.
- The scholarship is available for a maximum of four years for studies in India at the Secondary and Higher Secondary stage (Classes 9 to 12) only and is not available for diploma/certificate level courses.
- Awardees must obtain a minimum of 60% marks in the Class 10 examination (reduced by 5% for SC/ST students) or equivalent examination to continue the scholarship at the higher secondary stage.
- If an institution/school does not conduct examinations at the end of Class 9 or 11, the scholarship for the second year will be continued upon submission of a certificate from the Head of the Institution/school confirming no exams were held.
- In case of fraud, ensure regular follow-up, investigation, and initiation of penal action.
- Conduct an annual evaluation study to identify gaps and challenges in the scheme’s performance that hinder achieving its objectives. The study’s recommendations should be implemented, and any constraints at the ground level addressed promptly to improve the scheme’s effectiveness. This will also aid in monitoring the performance of low-performing states.
Note:- For more information, kindly refer to the ‘Scholarship Guidelines’ document.
Contact Details
Ministry of Education
Department of School Education & Literacy
Shastri Bhawan, Dr Rajendra Prasad Rd
Rajpath Area, Central Secretariat
New Delhi-110001
Email ID: helpdesk@nsp.gov.in | Phone Number: (0120) 661954