National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education for ST Students 2023

What is the National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education for ST Students?

The National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education for ST students are made by merging two Central sector schemes namely, the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship For ST students and Top Class Education for ST students.

Fellowships are provided to ST students to pursue higher education after post-graduation like Ph.D., M.Phil, etc. Scholarships are provided to students pursuing graduation or post-graduation from any public or private institution in professional courses like engineering, management, information technology, or medicine.

Highlights

Who is eligible to receive the scholarship?

The scholarship or fellowship is only for ST students and other necessary conditions to be eligible for this are

Fellowship

• The students applying for the fellowship must have passed their Postgraduate examination and enrolled in regular and full Ph.D. or M.Phil courses in institutions or universities recognized by UGC under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act/ICAR.

• The university or academic institution in which the student has taken admission should be identified by the ministry.

• The students who are selected for this fellowship cannot apply to any other Central or State Government scholarships schemes for the same course.

• The student will receive the fellowship once he/she has taken admission and started research work.

Scholarship

• The student should have taken admission to any recognized university or institution identified by the ministry after completion of all the norms.

• The total family income of the student must be less than Rs.6 lakhs per annum.

• The scholarship will be payable once the student starts his/her classes, and he will receive the scholarship till completion of the course and has an overall good performance throughout.

Who has been notified as to the minor communities under this scholarship?

Only candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes can apply for this scheme. Under this reservations have been made for:

• Physically handicapped and blind candidates
• PGVT
• HRA
• Women

National Fellowship and Scholarship amount for 2023

For Fellowship

What selection process would be followed under the National Fellowship and Scholarship plan?

• Fellowship

Only Institutes recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under para 2(f) of the UGC Act/ICAR will be considered.

There are a total of 750 slots with no maximum value set for State and Central Government. If the number of applications is more than the number of slots, then the selection is done on the basis of the post-graduation marks. Other than this, reservations are made of physically handicapped (5%), PGVT (50 slots), BPL (50 slots), and women (30% of the seats).

• Scholarship

The list of colleges is prepared by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

There are 1000 slots and the number of students selected does not depend on the institute or stream. . If the number of applications is more than the number of slots, then the selection is done on the basis of marks in the last examination.

How to apply for the National Fellowship and Scholarship plan?

Fellowship: An online portal will be developed by the Ministry where students can apply after getting admission to various courses in recognized universities. The list of selected students will also be displayed on the portal.

Scholarship: An end-to-end portal will be developed by the ministry where students can submit their application forms for selection, disbursement, and other processing after taking admission in courses recognized by the Ministry.

Once the students submit the documents required, a merit list will be displayed on the portal, and the selection of students will be done on the basis of the merit list. The following documents need to be verified by the institute:

• Scheduled Trice Certificate
• Annual income certificate of the family
• Total amount of Annual tuition fee and other refundable fees
• PVTG and BPL certificate if applicable

Information related to the Bank Account details

• The bank account should be in the name of the student and should be Aadhaar seeded as Payment would be made through Direct Bank Transfer through Aadhaar seeded bridge.

• In absence of the Aadhaar seeding, payment would be made directly to the bank a/c through NEFT.

• Bank accounts of students should be in banks having Core banking solutions

NOTE: Candidates not having an Aadhar card should apply for one within one month of registration as Aadhaar Number is compulsory to fill the application form.

What documents are required to apply for the Scholarship form?

For Fellowship

• For Registration
  1. Photograph
  2. Caste certificate
  3. Post-graduation degree proof
  4. BPL card and physically handicapped certificate (if applicable)

• After Selection

1. No.-judicial bond (original)
2. Certificate attested by the college authorities stating that the facilities required will be provided to candidate
3. Project details you are working on
4. Award letter
5. Joining letter
6. Upgradation certificate(if applicable)
7. Bank details of the student

• For Disbursement

1. Continuation certificate from academic institute (quarterly)
2. HRA(quarterly)
3. Progress report(yearly)

For Scholarship

• Domicile Certificate
• Bonafide Certificate
• Income Certificate attested by authority
• Student Photograph
• Caste Certificate 
• Fee receipt of current year
• Marksheet of last academic year
• Information of bank account in the name of student

Terms and Conditions

For Fellowship

• The ST students who are chosen for the fellowship are not eligible to apply for any other awards from the federal or state governments.
• The fellowship will be paid out as soon as the student has been admitted and has begun their research.

For Scholarship  

• As soon as the student has been admitted and has begun attending classes, the scholarship will become payable. 
• As long as the student performs satisfactorily, the scholarship will be given out until the course is finished.
• The maximum scholarship duration is determined by the course the student chooses.

Note: Please refer to the document titled “Guidelines and Forms” for more information.

Final Words

This scheme was launched by the Central Government so that students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes can pursue higher education and occupy posts of teachers, professors, doctors, managers, etc.