The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have undertaken special interest in promoting higher education in the North Eastern Region (NER) of India.

The UGC launched the Ishan Uday Special Scholarship Scheme for the students of the North Eastern Region to improve the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER), encourage children belonging to the economically weaker sections of the NER and promote higher education.

The UGC launched the Ishan Uday Scheme from the academic year 2014-2015. The UGC consulted with the State Governments, Ministry of HRD, Central and State Universities of the NER, North Eastern Council, Shillong, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and other stakeholders before launching this scheme.

The Ishan Uday Scheme provides scholarships for general degree courses, professional and technical courses from the beginning of the academic year 2014-15.

Objective of the Ishan Uday Scheme

• Providing equal opportunities to children for higher studies in NER
• Increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in NER
• Focusing on professional education in NER
• Optimum utilisation of the NER budgetary allocation

Benefits of the Ishan Uday Scheme

Under the Ishan Uday scheme, the UGC awards 10,000 new scholarships every year for students studying degree courses, professional and technical courses, including medical and para-medical courses. The amount of scholarship provided under the Ishan Uday scheme are as follows:

• Rs.5,400/- per month for a general degree course.
• Rs.7,800/- per month for technical and professional (including medical and para-medical) courses.

The amount of scholarship will be given through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the beneficiary student.

Eligibility Criteria for the Ishan Uday Scheme

The students eligible to apply for the scholarships under the Ishan Uday scheme are as follows:

• Students must have a domicile of NER. 
• Annual parental income should not exceed Rs.4.5 lakh per annum from all sources.  
• Students must have passed XII or equivalent in the previous academic year, ex. Students must have passed XII in the year 2019 for applications called during the year 2019-20.  
• Students must be admitted in the first year of any degree course, i.e. general degree course of professional/technical/para-medical/medical course, including integrated courses in the following Universities, Colleges or Institutions: 
  • Universities, Colleges or Institutions included under Section 2(f) and 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956.  
  • Deemed to be Universities included under Section 3 of the UGC Act and eligible to obtain grants-in-aid from the UGC.  
  • Universities, Colleges or Institutions funded by the Central or State Government.
  • Institutes of National importance.  
  • Institutions recognised by other Statutory councils, within and outside of NER.
  • Admissions should have been made with the AISHE code in the University, College or Institution. 

The following students are not eligible under this scheme:

• Students who are pursuing programmes or courses through Open Universities. 
• Students who are already availing scholarships for pursuing the Undergraduate programme under any other scheme. 
• Students who are getting admission through ‘management quota’. 
• Students pursuing courses like Diploma courses that do not lead to awarding a Degree.
• Students whose parents annual income exceeds Rs.4.5 lakh p.a.

Ishan Uday Scheme Application Procedure

The applications for availing of scholarship under this scheme are invited once a year on the National Scholarship Portal. Notification of the application dates of this scheme is also uploaded on the UGC website. The process for applying to the Ishan Uday scheme are as follows:

•  Visit the National Scholarship Portal and click on the ‘New Registration’ button on the top of the home page.
• Select/tick the undertakings and click on the ‘Continue’ button. Fill in all the details in the ‘Fresh Registration’ form and click on the ‘Register’ button. 
• The Application ID and Password will be sent to the applicants’ mobile number.
• The applicants need to log in to the National Scholarship Portal by clicking on the ‘Login’ button on the home page and entering the ‘Applicant ID’ and ‘Password’.
• After logging in, the applicants must fill the Ishan Uday Scholarship scheme application form, upload the required documents and submit it.

The opening date for applying to the Ishan Uday scheme will be notified on the National Scholarship Portal. The application form needs to be filled by the students before the expiry of the last date. 

The scholarships granted under the Ishan Uday scheme can be renewed during the period of the first-degree course, subject to maintenance of prescribed attendance and good conduct. The students can renew the scholarships for the next year of study upon receiving an annual progress report granted by the administrative head of the Institution, University or College.

Documents Required for the Ishan Uday Scheme

The following documents have to be uploaded while applying for the Ishan Uday scheme on the National Scholarship Portal:

• Domicile certificate issued by the competent authority. 
• Proof of annual income issued by the competent authority. 
• Aadhaar card.
• Annual progress report and continuation of studies must be uploaded or verified by the concerned Institution, University or College to renew the scholarship.