National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme

Description
The “National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme” is a Central Sector Scheme launched in 2008 by the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India. The objective of the scheme is to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage. Under this scheme, it is proposed to award 1,00,000 scholarships to the gifted or meritorious students whose parental income is not more than ₹3,50,000/- per annum from all sources at the time of selection of awardees for scholarship. Each State/UT has fixed quota https://dsel.education.gov.in/sites/default/files/NMMSS Guidelines 22.pdf of scholarship for concerned age group of class VII and VIII. The scheme will provide reservation to different categories of students as per the State/UT norms; as different States/UTs have their own norms of reservation. This scholarship will be provided on yearly basis to the students studying as regular students and entering in class IX in a Government, Government-aided, local body schools. Thus, the scholarship will be for a maximum period of four years. The scheme has been approved for continuation for another 5 years during the period of 15th Finance Commission cycle from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Exclusions
• The students studying in "Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas" are not entitled to get scholarships under this scheme.
• Those students studying in Residential Schools run by the Centre/ State Government Institutions, where facilities like boarding, lodging, and education are provided and students studying in private schools are also not eligible for the scholarship under the scheme.
• No scholarship shall be available for studies abroad for any course.
• No scholarship at this stage is payable for studying diploma/certificate level courses.

Benefits
• Under this scheme, 1,00,000 fresh scholarships @ ₹12,000/- per annum (₹1,000 per month) are awarded to the meritorious students every year at Class IX level, which can be continued upto Class Xll.
• The awardees will be required to open bank accounts preferably in SBI, or any public sector bank or any scheduled bank which has core banking facility.
• The amount of scholarships will be disbursed to students directly into their bank accounts by electronic transfer through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Eligibility Criteria
1. > **For Fresh Applications:**
2. The applicant must be a student.
3. Students whose parental income from all sources is not more than ₹3,50,000/- per annum are eligible to avail the scholarship.
4. The students must have minimum of 55 % marks or equivalent grade in Class VII examination for appearing in selection test for award of scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST students).
5. The students should be studying as regular student in a Government, Government-aided and local body school.
6. **Note:** There is reservation as per State/UT Government norms.
7. > **Procedure for Selection of Awardee Students:**
8. Each State/UT will conduct its own test at the 8th-grade level for the selection of students. The State Level Examination may consist of the following two tests:
9. - Mental Ability Test (MAT), 90 minutes duration: 90 multiple-choice questions testing verbal and non-verbal meta-cognitive abilities like reasoning and critical thinking. The questions in the test may be on analogy. classification. numerical series, pattern perception, hidden figure, etc.
10. - Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), 90 minutes duration: 90 multiple-choice questions covering subjects, namely, science, social studies, and mathematics, as taught in classes 7th and 8th.
11. > **For selecting the students, the following conditions shall apply:**
12. - The students must pass both the MAT and the SAT with at least 40 % marks in aggregate taken together for these two tests. For the SC/ST students, this cut-off will be 32% marks.
13. - At the time of selection for the award of scholarship, the student must have scored at least 55% mark or equivalent grade in the Class 8th examination. There will be 5 % relaxation for SC/ST students.
14. - The awardees should satisfy the other eligibility conditions mentioned in the scheme.
15. > **Note:** An awardee is eligible for the scholarship provided he/she:
16. - Takes up studies in approved courses.
17. - Maintains good conduct as certified by the Head of the College/Institution and continues his/her studies as a regular student in a government/Government aided/ Local Body school.
18. - Does not absent himself/herself without proper leave.
19. - Takes up studies on a full-time basis.
20. - The scheme will provide reservations to different categories of students as per the State/UT norms; as different States/UTs have their own norms of reservation.
21. - A student can avail of only one Scholarship under any Central Government Scholarship scheme.
22. - The awardees will be required to open bank accounts preferably in SBI, any public sector bank, or any scheduled bank which has a core banking facility.
23. - No claim for scholarship arrears will be entertained after the expiry of 12 months of the academic session for which one has applied for the claim.
24. - In case any awardee leaves his/her course of study within one month of registration/admission, no scholarship shall be paid to him/her.
25. - In case the student is not able to appear at the annual examination due to serious illness, he/she should send the medical certificate to the Head of the Institution within three months of his/her falling ill. The duration of illness should be clearly certified by a specialist who is a Registered Medical Practitioner. The facility will be available to the student to continue the same course in which they are studying, provided the principal or the head of the institution certifies that the overall performance of the student during the year has been very good.
26. - The student must join the next class/desired course within 3 months of the declaration of the result of the previous class/course.
27. - The scholarship shall be deemed to be discontinued if any gap of one academic session arises in studies at any time due to any reason.
28. - Scholarship once discontinued on the basis of the rules of disbursement of scholarship cannot be revived under any circumstances.
29. - All rules are subject to change from time to time, as and when required, which will be binding on all awardees.
30. > **For Renewal Applications:**
31. - The awardees should get a minimum of 60% marks in Class 10th for the continuation of the scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST candidates) in the next higher classes.
32. - For continuing the scholarship in class 10th and 12th, the awardees should get clear promotion from class 9th to class 10th and from class 11th to class 12th in the first attempt.
33. > **Note:**
34. - The awardees should get clear promotion from class 8th to Class 9th for being eligible for starting the scholarship, as indicated above.
35. - The scholarship at the Secondary and Higher Secondary stage or equivalent classes 9th to 12th is payable for a maximum period of four years for studies in India only.
36. - For continuing the scholarship in class 10th and 12th, the awardees should get clear promotion from class 9th to class 10th and from class 11th to class 12th in the first attempt.
37. - The awardees must obtain a minimum of 60% marks in the Class 10th examination (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST students) or equivalent examination for continuation of the scholarship at the higher secondary stage.
38. - In case an institution/school does not conduct an examination at the end of Class 9th and/or Class 11th, the scholarship for the second year will be continued on the submission of a certificate to this effect from the Head of the Institution/School.
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Required Documents
• Aadhaar Card
• Educational Certificates/ marksheet
• Caste Certificate
• Income Certificate of Parents
• Disability Certificate, if applicable
• Domicile Certificate
• Any other supporting documents as required

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the objective of the scheme?
A: The primary objective is to support talented students from low-income families so that financial constraints do not force them to discontinue education after Class VIII.
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Q: How many scholarships are awarded under scheme each year?
A: Approximately 1 lakh fresh scholarships are awarded every year to selected students of Class IX.
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Q: What is the scholarship amount under scheme?
A: Each selected student receives ₹12,000 per annum (₹1,000 per month).
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Q: Who is eligible to apply for the scholarship?
A: Students whose parental income from all sources does not exceed ₹3.50 lakh per annum are eligible, subject to fulfillment of other conditions.
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Q: What is the minimum academic requirement for eligibility?
A: Students must have scored at least 55% marks in Class VII (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST students) to appear in the selection test.
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Q: Which students are eligible in terms of school type?
A: Students studying as regular students in Government, Government-aided, and Local Body schools are eligible.
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Q: Are students from Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas eligible?
A: No. Students studying in KVS, NVS, and residential schools are not eligible under scheme.
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Q: Is reservation applicable under the scheme?
A: Yes, reservation is applicable as per State Government norms.
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Q: At which stage is the selection test conducted?
A: The selection test is conducted at the Class VIII stage.
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Q: What are the components of the scheme selection test?
A: The test consists of two parts:

- Mental Ability Test (MAT)
- Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)

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Q: What are the qualifying marks in the selection test?
A: Students must score at least 40% marks in aggregate in MAT and SAT.
For SC/ST students, the qualifying mark is 32%.
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Q: When does a student start receiving the scholarship?
A: Selected students start receiving the scholarship from Class IX.
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Q: Can the scholarship be renewed in higher classes?
A: Yes, the scholarship is renewable in Classes X, XI, and XII, subject to fulfillment of renewal conditions.
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Q: Is renewal allowed if a student fails or repeats a class?
A: No. The scholarship is continued only if the student is promoted in the first attempt.
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Q: How is the scholarship disbursed to students?
A: The scholarship amount is transferred directly into the student’s bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
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