Central Sector Scholarship 2020 – Dates, Apply Online, Eligibility, Rewards

The Ministry of Human Resources Development has initiated a new and unique scholarship scheme for the benefit of college-going and university level students. This scholarship is funded on a central basis, and every year more than 80,000 students are benefitting from this scheme. The Central Sector scholarship provides both merits and means grant for the economically weaker and poorer sections of society.

A unique feature of Central Sector scholarship is the disbursal of the grant in equal proportions amongst the boys and girls. Reservation in equal proportion for both boys and girls is applicable. In this way, the central government is trying to promote higher education among the girls, too, so that they set newer records for the country. The scholarship amount is in the form of an annual grant amount that would help students cover up the basic and extra costs of their education.

This article provides complete details about the objective of Central Sector Scholarship 2020, the various benefits and rewards of this centrally funded scheme, important dates and deadlines to keep up with, detailed eligibility criteria and application process, steps for renewal, frequently asked questions, etc.

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Central Sector Scholarship 2020 – Overview

Central Sector Scholarship – Key Objectives

This central funder scholarship offered by the MHRD has many objectives; they are listed below:

• The target group for the beneficiary of this scholarship is the economically downtrodden sections and low-income groups of society. The scholarship is largely to provide financial aid to these groups.
• The scholarship aims to enable students to pursue higher studies in both technical and non-technical (general) streams.
• This scholarship is mainly to help graduates and postgraduates. 
• The target age group is between 18-25 years.
• With the aim to establish transparency in the system, the state education boards are entrusted with the duty of disbursing scholarships apart from ICSE and CBSE groups. 
• With the entrusted vision of developing science learning, the scholarships are disbursed in the following ratio for different streams – 3:2:1 [Science: Commerce: Arts]. 

Central Sector Scholarship – Important Dates

The important events with respect to the scholarship are bound to change every year. Some common timelines are maintained, and the same is explained below:

Central Sector Scholarship – Benefits & Rewards

The various benefits and rewards received by the candidates as part of the Central sector scholarship program are explained below: 

• Out of the total 82,000 scholarships available, 50% of them (41,000) are given out to girls, and the rest 41,000 scholarships are given out to girls. 
• The mode of transferring the scholarship amount is through DBT (direct benefit transfer).

The detailed list of rewards at graduate and postgraduate levels is explained below:

Central Sector Scholarship – Eligibility Criteria

The aspect of ‘merit’ is one of those few qualities that the central sector scholarship looks into while awarding scholarships to eligible candidates. The detailed list of conditions/eligibility criteria for availing this scholarship are explained below:

• The candidate should ideally be from a low-income family whose annual income is not above 8 lakhs per annum.
• In the 12th board exams, the applicant should have scored more than 80 percentile marks.
• Either in state board lists or CBSE/ICSE rolls of 12th exams, the candidate is expected to outshine with top merit, at least in the top creamy layer or 20% of the higher merit ranking list.
• Courses to be pursued include – general/professional courses (both graduation and post-graduation). These courses should be recognized/affiliated by AICTE/UGC and other relevant government bodies.
• SC/ST/ OBC and PWD categories are allotted special reservations in the order of 15%, 7.5%, 25%, and 5%, respectively.
• The applicant should be devoid of receiving any other scholarship/grant aid.
• Diploma students are ineligible to apply for this scholarship.

Central Sector Scholarship Application Process – How to Apply?

The central sector scholarship has to be centrally applied by visiting the official portal of NSP (National scholarship portal) of the government of India.

Here is the detailed step by step approach to complete the application process for this scholarship:

• Visit the homepage of NSP – scholarships.gov.in
• Click on ‘New Registration’ for registering yourself as the first time and new user.
• Fill in the basic details in the registration form and submit.
• In your mobile, you would receive student ID and password, using which you should log into the website now.
• At this stage, you would receive an OTP on your mobile, which should be entered again for changing ID and password according to personal preferences.
• After the login the validation step, candidates should check into the ‘Applicant’s dashboard page.’
• Look out for ‘Application form,’ click on it and start filling the form with correct details.
• Enter all necessary details like registration details, academic qualifications, personal information, contact information, and scheme interested to apply for.
• Supporting documents for academic criteria should be scanned and uploaded to support the application.
• Save your filled in application as a DRAFT. Go through the entire application form once again and look out for errors, if any. Rectify the errors made and then confirm the form to be perfect and error-free.
• Finally, SUBMIT the application form after verifying details.

This completes the application process from the part of the candidate for applying to this scholarship scheme.

Documents Required For Central Sector Scholarship 

Every application should be accompanied by relevant documents to support his/her academic qualifications and other criteria. Here is the detailed list of documents to be submitted:

• Aadhaar card
• Photo ID proof like voter ID card/driving license/PAN/passport etc.
• Caste certificate
• Income certificate
• Disability certificate [wherever applicable]
• Mark sheets of the Class 12th qualifying exam
• First page of Bank passbook. 

Central Sector Scholarship – Renewal Policy

All those candidates who fulfill the eligibility criteria and avail the scholarship shall renew it every year owing to many conditions. This scholarship shall continue for a maximum period of 5 years [applicable to graduation/post graduation]. Also, the course of graduation and post-graduation shall commence in the same streams if learning to continue receiving scholarship without any hindrance. 

Here’s a detailed look on the renewal policy:

• Candidates shall maintain regular attendance at their places of study.
• They should attend exams without being absent and score a minimum of 50% of marks in their previous exam.
• Regular attendance is compulsory, and a minimum of 75% attendance in rolls is to be maintained.
• Candidates shouldn’t be involved in any anti-social activities/ragging/ malpractices.
• Candidates must apply within the stipulated time duration for the renewal of their scholarship. 

Central Sector Scholarship – Frequently Asked Questions

• Explain verification of application for central sector scholarship.

Verification for individual candidate application happens at two places:

At the college where a student is pursuing his/her course.

At the educational board where the candidate completed their 12th standard. 

• What is the general time period during which applicants can look out and apply for the central sector scholarship?

Between July and October of every year, candidates can look out for the Central sector scholarship. 

• What is the general payout of scholarship in this scheme?

The annual grant of INR 20,000 till the completion, of course, is the payout of this scholarship. 

• What is the official reference portal to submit applications from?

NSP or National Scholarship Portal is the central portal from where all data related to this scholarship can be accessed. 

• Which department is offering these scholarships?

The department of higher education of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the government of India, is responsible for this scholarship. 

Contact Details of Central Sector Scholarship

Applicants can contact the authorities in case of any doubts regarding this scholarship:

Contact numbers: 011-26172917/ 011-26172491/011- 26165238

Contact address: National Scholarship Division, MHRD, 

Department of Higher education,

West block 1, 2nd floor, 6th wing, room no.6,

K.Puram, sector 1, New Delhi – 110066. 

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