Filing for AY 2024-25 is coming soon
Filing for AY 2024-25 is coming soon
Keep calm and sign up for early access to our super filing platform

Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme

By Mayashree Acharya

|

Updated on: Jun 28th, 2021

|

6 min read

social iconssocial iconssocial iconssocial icons

The Merit-cum-Means Based Scholarship Scheme for Minorities is a flagship program of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. It is a Central Sector Scheme and is 100% funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The objective of the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme for Minorities is to provide support to the children belonging to the minority communities families. 

The Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme provides financial assistance to the meritorious and poor students belonging to the minority communities for studying professional and technical courses at the graduate or postgraduate level. By providing financial assistance to the children belonging to the minority communities to continue their studies, a bright future is secured for them. 

Scope of the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme

The scholarships are awarded for students studying in India in a private or government institution notified and selected in a transparent manner by the concerned State Government or Union Territory Administration. It covers professional and technical courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Eligibility Criteria for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme

The eligibility criteria for receiving scholarships under the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme are as follows:

  • Students belonging to families of Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains, notified as minority communities are eligible for this scheme.
  • The scholarships are awarded to the students who have secured more than 50% marks or equivalent grade in the previous final examination.
  • The annual income of the guardians or parents of the students from all sources should not exceed Rs.2.50 lakh.
  • The students must be pursuing studies in India in a recognised private or government university, college, institute or school.
  • The pursuing course must be of minimum one-year duration.

Benefits Provided Under the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme

A total of 60,000 fresh scholarships is provided under the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme every year, and the students can renew them till the completion of their course. The scholarships are provided for the entire course or academic year. A list of 85 ‘Reputed Premier Institutes’ are covered under the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme.  

The students studying in the Reputed Premier Institutes are eligible for a full course fee reimbursement during an academic year as a scholarship. Similarly, the maintenance allowance is also given as a fixed lump sum amount for an academic year. The details of the scholarship amount are as follows:

  • Rate of scholarship course fee – Rs.20,000 per annum subject to actuals, whichever is less.
  • Maintenance allowance – Rs.1,000 per month for hosteller and Rs.500 per month for day scholar for ten months in an academic year.
  • Scholarship for listed Reputed Premier Institutes – Reimbursement of the full course fee for 85 Reputed Premier Institutes.

Application Procedure for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme

The National Scholarship Portal (NSP) implements the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme. The students need to apply for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme on the NSP. The process of application is as follows:

  • Go to the NSP and click on the ‘New Registration’ button on the top of the home page.
  • Select the undertakings, click on the ‘Continue’ button and fill in the details of the ‘Fresh Registration Application’ form. 
  • After filling in all the details on the ‘Fresh Registration Application’ form, click on the ‘Submit’ button.
  • The applicants will receive the Student Application ID and Password on their mobile number.
  • Log in to the NSP by clicking on the ‘Login’ button on top of the home page and entering the Student Application ID and Password.
  • Click on the ‘Ministry of Minority Affairs’ option on the home page and fill and submit the ‘Merit Cum Means Scholarship For Professional and Technical Courses CS’ application form.

Document Required for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme

The applicants/students must upload the following documents on the NSP for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship scheme: 

  • Verification form provided by the respective Institution.
  • Income Certificate issued by the Competent Authority.
  • A self-certified community certificate from the student/applicant if he/she has attained 18 years of age.
  • A community certificate certified by the parent or guardian if the student is below 18 years.
  • Mark sheet of the last qualifying exam at higher secondary or graduation level. 
  • Fee Receipt of the current course year.
  • Students’ Bank account number with the IFSC Code of the bank branch.
  • Residential or Domicile Certificate.
  • Aadhaar number of the student.
inline CTA
Get an expert at affordable price
For ITR, GST returns, Company Registration, Trademark Registration, GST Registration
About the Author

I am an advocate by profession and have a keen interest in writing. I write articles in various categories, from legal, business, personal finance, and investments to government schemes. I put words in a simplified manner and write easy-to-understand articles. Read more

CONTENTS

Clear offers taxation & financial solutions to individuals, businesses, organizations & chartered accountants in India. Clear serves 1.5+ Million happy customers, 20000+ CAs & tax experts & 10000+ businesses across India.

Efiling Income Tax Returns(ITR) is made easy with Clear platform. Just upload your form 16, claim your deductions and get your acknowledgment number online. You can efile income tax return on your income from salary, house property, capital gains, business & profession and income from other sources. Further you can also file TDS returns, generate Form-16, use our Tax Calculator software, claim HRA, check refund status and generate rent receipts for Income Tax Filing.

CAs, experts and businesses can get GST ready with Clear GST software & certification course. Our GST Software helps CAs, tax experts & business to manage returns & invoices in an easy manner. Our Goods & Services Tax course includes tutorial videos, guides and expert assistance to help you in mastering Goods and Services Tax. Clear can also help you in getting your business registered for Goods & Services Tax Law.

Save taxes with Clear by investing in tax saving mutual funds (ELSS) online. Our experts suggest the best funds and you can get high returns by investing directly or through SIP. Download Black by ClearTax App to file returns from your mobile phone.

Cleartax is a product by Defmacro Software Pvt. Ltd.

Company PolicyTerms of use

ISO

ISO 27001

Data Center

SSL

SSL Certified Site

128-bit encryption