Govt revises scholarship rules for 2026-27, allows merit and welfare scheme eligibility

The scholarship process on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) will follow revised rules from the 2026-27 academic year, allowing students to retain access to a merit-based scholarship even if they qualify for a welfare-based scheme, and vice versa.

The revised framework has been approved by the Central government after issues emerged during the implementation of the NSP's deduplication module for 2024-25.

The process had flagged several beneficiaries as duplicates, prompting discussions between the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE).

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked affiliated schools to share the revised scholarship provisions with eligible students, parents and other stakeholders to improve awareness of the changes.

The government said the review of duplicate cases showed the need for ministries and departments to follow a common understanding of the classification, scope and purpose of different scholarship schemes.

Scholarship categories clarified

The revised framework retains the general principle of "One Student - One Scholarship" while distinguishing between different forms of student support.

The government noted that the word "scholarship" is frequently used for financial assistance as well as incentives, which can create overlaps in eligibility and implementation.

"For deduplication, conceptual clarity, policy harmonisation, and uniform implementation, ministries and departments have been requested to classify their schemes under the following broad categories," the order states.

Merit-based Scholarships

Merit-based scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic performance, rankings or achievements in competitive or qualifying examinations. These schemes are intended to recognize academic excellence and promote merit.

Examples include the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS), the Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students and Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE).

Welfare-based Scholarships

Welfare-based scholarships provide financial assistance to students from specified communities, categories or socio-economic groups. The objective is to reduce financial barriers and promote equity in education.

These include pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes for SC, ST, OBC and minority students.

Students can receive either category under revised rules

Under the revised framework effective from 2026-27, a student receiving a welfare-based scholarship will not be denied a merit-based scholarship if the student subsequently becomes eligible for it. The same provision applies in the reverse situation.

The change follows the government's review of how scholarship applications were being identified and processed through NSP's deduplication system.

Changes at application submission and editing stage

The NSP process has also been revised to reduce repetitive data entry for students applying under multiple schemes.

Information provided when an application is initially submitted will be retained and reused for subsequent applications. Students submitting additional applications will only need to provide scheme-specific information and upload the documents required for that particular scheme.

If an application is marked as "Defective," students will be allowed to edit only scheme-specific information.

However, if changes are required in general, academic, institute or course details, all applications submitted by the student must first be withdrawn before those details can be modified.

Changes during L1 verification

The revised process also provides for greater consistency in information checked during Level 1 (L1) verification.

Tuition fees, admission fees and other non-refundable fee components updated during L1 verification of the student's first application will be automatically populated in subsequent applications.

The Institute Nodal Officer (INO) will also be able to view all applications submitted by an applicant along with their respective status during L1 verification.

NIC-NSP has further clarified how deficiencies will be categorized when applications are marked as "Defective." These will be divided into deficiencies related to scheme-specific information and those involving general or academic details.

Changes during L2 verification

At Level 2 (L2) verification, all applications submitted by the same student, along with their respective status, will be visible simultaneously to the concerned L2 Nodal Officers.

The arrangement is intended to support consistency in decisions when a student applies under different scholarship categories.

For example, if a student submits one application under a welfare-based scheme and another under a merit-based scheme, the L2 Nodal Officers handling both applications will be able to view the other application and its status.

The revised process also introduces additional safeguards for discrepancies in general or academic information. If such deficiencies are identified, all other applications submitted by the same student will automatically be flagged under the "Red Flag" category.

CBSE has asked affiliated schools to communicate these provisions to eligible students and parents so applicants understand the revised scholarship categories and application procedures for the 2026-27 academic year.