National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme

Introduction

• National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme is Central Sector Scheme of Department of School Education & Literacy.
• It was launched in the month of May 2008.
• The main objective behind starting this scheme to support students financially so that they can easily complete their basic education.
• This scheme is also known as "Central Sector National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme".
• This Scholarship Scheme is specifically launched for the students who belongs to economically weaker sections.
• Through this scheme, Department of School Education and Literacy targets the primary education of students who studying in Class 9th to Class 12th.
• Monthly Scholarship will be provided to selected students under National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme.
• Scholarship amount of Rs. 1000/- per month will be paid to the selected students.
• This means that every year beneficiary student will get Rs. 12,000/- per year as a scholarship under National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme of Central Government.
• Students can utilise this scholarship amount on their school fees or they can purchase stationary items or study material as per their requirement.
• Class 8th Passed Students are eligible to apply for scholarship under this scheme.
• Scholarship under National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme will be provided to students for a maximum period of 4 years i.e. from Class 9th to Class 12th.
• 1,00,000/- students every year from all over India will be selected for scholarship.
• Selection of Students for Scholarship under National Means Cum Merit Scholarship will be done purely on merit basis.
• Merit will be made through competitive examination which can be conducted by their respective State/ UT.
• This is DBT Scheme in which scholarship amount will be directly paid in the bank account of student.
• Eligible Students can apply for scholarship under National Means Cum Merit Scholarship by filling Online Application Form which is available on National Scholarship Portal.
• The last to apply for National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme is 31-01-2024.

Benefits of Scheme

• Students selected for scholarship will get the following benefits under National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme :-
  • Monthly Scholarship will be provided.
  • Scholarship of Rs. 1,000/- per Month i.e. Rs. 12,000/- per year will be provided.
  • Scholarship will be provided for a period of 4 years i.e. Class 9th to Class 12th.

Eligibility Criteria

• Parents Annual Income of Student should be below Rs. 3,50,000/- per year.
• Students will have to secure minimum 55 % marks in Class 8th Examination.
• Scholarship to Students will be provided from Class 9th to Class 12th.
• For SC and ST Students minimum marks percent required is 50 %.
• Only those students are eligible for scholarship who are studying in :-
  • Government Schools.
  • Government Aided Schools.
  • Local Body School.
• Students studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya are not eligible for scholarship.
• Students studying in private school are also not eligible.

Documents Required

• The following documents is required at the time of availing the benefit of scholarship under National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme :-
  • Income Certificate.
  • Caste Certificate.
  • Mobile Number.
  • Aadhar Card.
  • Bank Account Details.

Selection Procedure

• Every State and Union Territory conducts a separate test at the stage of Class VIII for selection of students for scholarship under National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme.
• Exam consist two test:-
  1. Mental Ability Test (MAT).
     • It consist 90 multiple choice questions.
     • Questions asked on verbal and non-verbal meta-cognitive abilities.
     • The questions in MAT are based on :-
       • Reasoning.
       • Critical Thinking.
       • Analogy.
       • Classification.
       • Numerical Series.
       • Pattern Perception.
       • Hidden Figure etc.
  2. Scholastic Aptitude Test.
     • It also consist 90 multiple choice questions.
     • Questions are based on subjects covering :-
       • Science.
       • Social Studies.
       • Mathematics.
• Duration of test is 90 minutes.
• Children with disability given extra time as mandated by the respective State Governments.
• It is mandatory to pass in both the test.
• Cut off is 40% marks aggregate for both the test.
• The cut off for students belongs to Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe is 32% marks.
• Students qualified in the MAT and SAT then register themselves on National Scholarship Portal.
• Applications subject to verify on the portal.
• After verification final list of eligible candidates uploaded on the National Scholarship Portal.
• Ministry then sanction the fund and releases to SBI for allocation.
• State Bank of India disburse the scholarship amount directly to the bank account of the students under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Feature of the Scheme

• The operational time period of the National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme is from 2021-22 to 2025-26, i.e. for the period of 5 years.
• Scholarship under this scheme is only for the students who studying in Government, Government Aided or local body schools.
• The amount of scholarship is increased from Rs. 6,000/- to Rs. 12,000/- on 1st of April 2017.
• Student can avail only one scholarship of any Central Scholarship Scheme.
• Students required to open bank account preferably in SBI or any public sector bank.
• No scholarship shall be awarded for studying abroad for any course under this scheme.
• In case, student leave his/her course of study within 1 month, then no scholarship shall be paid to him/her.
• It is mandatory for the student to join the next class within 3 months after the result of the previous class.
• Scholarship will get discontinue if student take gap for any reason in single academic session.
• Once the scholarship discontinued by the government then it cannot be revived under no circumstances.

Renewal Criteria of the Scheme

• From Class 9th to Class 10th, student has required to get clearly passed the exam in first attempt.
• Minimum 60% marks in Class 10th is mandatory to secure by the student for renewal of the scheme.
• For Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe students minimum marks required for renewal is 55%.
• From Class 11th to Class 12th, student must clear the final exams in first attempt.
• If students fulfil these above criteria then the scholarship will renew every year.

Seat Allocation to the States/ UTs

• Seat Allocation under Central Sector National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme are as follows :-

  States/UTs	Number of Seats
  Andhra Pradesh	4087
  Arunachal Pradesh	122
  Assam	2411
  Bihar	5433
  Chhattisgarh	2246
  Goa	144
  Gujarat	5097
  Haryana	2337
  Himachal Pradesh	832
  Jammu & Kashmir	1091
  Jharkhand	1959
  Karnataka	5534
  Kerala	3473
  Madhya Pradesh	6446
  Maharashtra	11682
  Manipur	255
  Meghalaya	231
  Mizoram	103
  Nagaland	180
  Orissa	3314
  Punjab	2210
  Rajasthan	5471
  Sikkim	58
  Tamil Nadu	6695
  Telangana	2921
  Tripura	351
  Uttar Pradesh	15143
  Uttarakhand	1048
  West Bengal	7250
  A & N Islands	42
  Chandigarh	85
  D & N Haveli	22
  Daman & Diu	16
  Delhi	1576
  Lakshadweep	10
  Pondicherry	125
  Total	1,00,000

Important Links

• National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme Online Application Form.
• National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme Registration.
• National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme Login.
• National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme Application Status.
• National Scholarship Portal.
• National Scholarship Portal App.
• National Means Cum Merit Scholarship Scheme Guidelines.
• National Means Cum Merit Scholarship FAQs.
• Department of School Education & Literacy Website.

Contact Details

• National Scholarship Portal Help Desk :- 0120-6619540.
• Nodal Officer Contact Number :- 0112-3383363.
• National Scholarship Portal Helpdesk Email :- helpdesk@nsp.gov.in.
• Department of School education & Literacy, Ministry of Education,
  Shastri Bhawan, Dr Rajendra Prasad Rd,
  Rajpath Area, Central Secretariat
  New Delhi - 110001.