To facilitate better opportunities for minorities, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has introduced the “National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students”.
This scholarship has been introduced by merging two central scholarship schemes; the Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship and the Top Class Education for ST scheme. These scholarships were merged into a single central scheme, and the guidelines were first published in April 2015.
Under the new merged scholarship for ST students, financial aid will be provided to ST students who are willing to pursue higher education after the completion of their post-graduation courses. Students willing to pursue higher education courses like Ph.D. courses, M.Phil, etc. can apply for this fellowship.
The Objective of the NFS Scheme:
The scholarship and fellowship will be awarded to research students who want to pursue full-time courses. It aims to encourage meritorious students to pursue higher education.
The courses can be from any professional field such as Medicine, Law, Engineering, Management, and Information technology, and can be pursued by any government or private institution.
The main objective is to encourage the lowest literacy community in the country and help them acquire further education. It aims to create qualified professionals from the lowest literacy communities.
National Fellowship and Scholarship Details:
Organization: Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India
Scholarship Name: National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students
The national fellowship scheme for ST will cover all recognized universities and institutions that have been recognized by the UGC. It will be awarded to research students and cater to the needs of ST students who aim to pursue higher education leading to full-time courses in research or scientific institutions.
• National Scholarship:
The national scholarship for ST will cover institutions and courses notified by the Tribal Affairs Ministry Department. All ST students who secure admission to these institutions will be awarded scholarships, which will continue till the completion of the course term as long as the students give satisfactory performance.
Only the candidates belonging to the ST category shall be eligible for the fellowship program. They ought to have passed the Post-Graduation examination to be qualified for the Fellowship.
To surpass the eligibility criteria, the applicant will be required to first get affirmation and enrolment for regular and full-time M.Phil./Ph.D. Courses in University/Academic Institutions recognized by UGC.
The ST applicants once selected for a grant of this fellowship will not be qualified for some other grant of the Centre or State Government for the same study program.
The fellowship might be payable once the selected candidate has secured admission and begun the examination work at their research institute.
To be fully eligible for the Senior Research Fellowship an applicant should satisfy the UGC/ICAR standards recommended in this regard.
Eligibility Criteria for Scholarship:
ST understudies who have secured a seat in the notified Institutions as per the standards set by the respective Institutions will be considered to have qualified for receiving of grant under this scheme.
The aggregate family pay of the applicant to be qualified for this grant from all sources ought not to surpass Rs.6.00 lakh per annum.
The grant will wind up noticeably payable instantly after an understudy has secured confirmation and has begun going to the classes.
The scholarship granted under this scheme will proceed till the finish of the course, subject to satisfactory performance by the student till the term ends.
The scheme covers all institutes recognized under UGC. The addition or removal of institutes will be done by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The total number of fellowships for each year will be 750.
1000 Scholarship:
Ministry of Tribal Affairs will select and notify reputed premier institutions. The total number of scholarships awarded each year will be 1000.
Age Limit:
Not more than 36 years
Funding Pattern:
Fellowship: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will provide 100% of the funding that will be released quarterly.
Scholarship: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will provide 100% of the funding that will be released in a single installment.
Duration:
The course duration may vary as per the course selected by the students. The fellowship/scholarship, once given, will continue till the course is complete.
M.Phil
Two Years
Ph.D
Five Years
Ph.D. after completion of M.Pil
Two Years M.Phil and Three Years Ph.D
How to Apply for ST Fellowship/Scholarship Online 2023-24?
An online gateway https://scholarships.gov.in has been developed for an application, handling, processing, dispensing, and checking have been produced by this Ministry.
All eligible candidates taking admission in the different courses under the notified Universities/Institutes can fill up and form and submit the application on the web for a scholarship grant.
New students applying for scholarships are required to register themselves on the NSP website as new students by providing relevant information in the registration form.
Then log onto the scholarship website and fill out the application form. The information given in the application form will be confirmed by thoroughly verified by the University/Institute. The list of selected candidates will be generated automatically and displayed on the online portal.
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