Pre-Matric Scholarship — Minority Students
About This Scholarship
This scholarship from the Ministry of Minority Affairs is unique in covering students as young as Class 1, making it one of the earliest intervention schemes on NSP. It targets students from six recognised minority communities — Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, and Jain — who are at risk of dropping out due to economic hardship. The income limit is strict at ₹1 lakh per year, which means it reaches only the most economically vulnerable families. It provides a maintenance allowance and a book grant, with hostellers receiving a higher monthly amount.
Eligibility Criteria
- Must belong to a notified minority community: Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, or Jain
- Enrolled in Class 1 to Class 10 at a recognised school
- Annual family income must not exceed ₹1 lakh
- At least 50% marks in the previous class (for Class 1 entrants, this condition is waived)
- No other central pre-matric scholarship being availed simultaneously
How Much You Get
This scheme provides Up to ₹1,000/month to eligible students. Income must not exceed ₹1 lakh/year from all sources, as certified by a competent authority. Scholarship money is disbursed directly to your Aadhaar-linked bank account via PFMS — no institution or intermediary handles the funds.
Amounts may vary between day scholars and hostellers in schemes that have both categories. Always check the official scheme guidelines on scholarships.gov.in for the current year's amount structure, as rates are subject to periodic revision by the government.
Documents Required
- Community / minority certificate (school certificate or self-declaration as per state rules)
- Income certificate from competent authority
- School bonafide certificate or enrolment proof
- Previous year marksheet
- Aadhaar card
- Bank passbook (student's or parent's account as applicable)
All documents must be uploaded in the format specified by NSP (usually JPG or PDF, under 200KB per file). Ensure scans are clear and legible — blurry uploads are a common cause of application defects.
The income ceiling of ₹1 lakh is stricter than most NSP schemes. Get a fresh income certificate each year rather than reusing last year's — many applications are rejected because the certificate is older than 12 months at the time of institute verification.