Students & Scholarships

How to apply

The documents to gather and the order to do things in, so an application is not rejected on a technicality.

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One-Time Registration is mandatory, and it is where most people get stuck: 4
Before you start, you need

One-Time Registration is mandatory, and it is where most people get stuck

A One-Time Registration is a unique 14-digit number issued against your Aadhaar. It is valid for your entire academic career — no annual re-registration — it is free on the portal, and it doubles as your login. It has been mandatory for all services on the portal since 2024-25.

Before you start, you need

An active mobile number
Your Aadhaar number, or an Enrolment ID slip
Your mobile number linked to that Aadhaar — this is the step families most often fail
Aadhaar seeded to your bank account (described as desired, and in practice it decides where the money lands)

The steps

1Register your mobile number on the portal. You get a reference number by SMS.
2Install the UIDAI AadhaarFaceRD app.
3Install the NSP OTR app. This is the only official app, it is Android-only, and it handles registration and face authentication only — the application itself is filled on the website.
4In the OTR app, choose eKYC with FaceAuth and complete Aadhaar face authentication. Face authentication is mandatory for generating an OTR.
5Your OTR arrives by SMS.

When face authentication fails

Error 904 — update the UIDAI AadhaarFaceRD app.
Aadhaar biometrics locked — face authentication fails silently. Set the biometric lock to “Unlocked” in mAadhaar or myAadhaar first.
Poor lighting, or the phone held wrong.

Two rules that silently kill applications

If you registered with an Enrolment ID rather than an Aadhaar number, you must submit the actual Aadhaar number within one month, failing which the registration may be suspended or processing stopped.
A student registered on a parent's Aadhaar must switch to their own Aadhaar on turning 18 and redo eKYC. Until then the eKYC shows pending and the application will not process.

Documents

Uploads are PDF or JPEG, maximum 200 KB per document, and the standard operating procedure requires them to be clear and readable.

Document	Who issues it	Notes
Aadhaar (the student's own)	UIDAI	Mandatory, and it now also drives the One-Time Registration and face authentication.
If you have no Aadhaar	Enrolment ID slip, plus one of: bank passbook with photo, ration card, PAN, passport, a school photo-identity certificate under the head's seal, or driving licence	The Aadhaar number must be added on the portal within one month.
Income certificate	A Competent Authority in your State or UT government — in practice the Tehsildar, SDM or Revenue Department, through your state e-district portal	The one document that cannot be self-certified. Income of parents or guardians from all sources.
Community declaration	Self-certified if you are 18 or over; otherwise certified by a parent or guardian	No government minority certificate is demanded by the central minority schemes.
Previous year marksheet	School or college	Self-attested. Proves you clear the marks threshold.
Bonafide student certificate	Head of institute, on letterhead with seal	Required when Aadhaar is unavailable, and whenever your institute is in a different State or UT from your home.
Bank account details	Your bank — account number and IFSC	For post-matric schemes the account must be in the student's name only. Verify the number and IFSC at the branch, complete KYC, and keep it active.
Residence or domicile certificate	State Revenue Department	You get the quota of the State or UT you live in, regardless of where you study.

Bank details — the single largest cause of failure

Money is paid by direct transfer into the student's own account. If the details you enter are wrong or your bank does not validate them, the scholarship is cancelled even though your application was approved. You get exactly one chance to correct bank details if validation fails. If your Aadhaar is seeded to a different account, the money goes to that account regardless of what you typed on the form. There is no re-payment provision for a failed transaction.

Check your Aadhaar seeding at myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in and track payments at pfms.nic.in.

What happens after you submit

Your application goes to your institute's nodal officer, then to a district, state or ministry nodal officer, then to the payment system for account validation, then to de-duplication and merit list generation, then to disbursement. At each verification step the officer can verify, mark defective, reject, or mark as fake.

Marked defective means it comes back for correction — fix it and resubmit within the portal's timeline.
Rejected means it is not considered at all. There is no second route.
After you submit online you must physically hand your supporting documents to your institute. This is skipped constantly and it stops the application dead.

Why applications get rejected

All of these come from the official standard operating procedure, the ministry FAQ, and the scheme guidelines. This is the part that is rarely written down, and it is the most useful thing on this page.

Bank and payment

A wrong account number or IFSC. If your bank does not validate the details, the scholarship is cancelled even though the application was approved.
Only one correction is allowed if validation fails.
A dormant, closed or limit-restricted account at the time of disbursement. There is no re-payment provision for a failed transaction.
The money lands in an unexpected account because your Aadhaar is seeded to a different one.

Aadhaar, registration and eKYC

No One-Time Registration — mandatory since 2024-25.
Face authentication never completed, or Aadhaar biometrics left locked.
The mobile number is not linked to the Aadhaar.
An Enrolment-ID registration not upgraded to a real Aadhaar number within one month.
The student turned 18 and did not switch to their own Aadhaar.

Verification stage

The wrong institute was selected. It has to be marked defective by that institute before it can be corrected.
A defect was not corrected within the portal timeline.
The student never followed up with the institute before its verification deadline.
Physical documents were never handed to the institute after online submission.
The institute is not registered on the portal, or the course is not in its master list.

Eligibility and documents

Below the marks threshold, or income above the ceiling.
The income certificate is not from a Competent Authority.
A third child from the same family, where a two-per-family cap applies.
Already holding another Central Government scholarship.
An ineligible course — under one year, or a certificate course.
A renewal applicant who changed institute or course mid-course.
Documents illegible, or over the 200 KB limit.

False statements

If a scholarship is obtained by a false statement it is cancelled forthwith and the amount is recovered by the State or Union Territory government.

The annual pattern

We publish the pattern, not a promise. Check the portal for this year's dates.

Typically	Stage
June	The portal opens for the academic year. Some schemes open in July or August.
End of August	School-level schemes close.
End of September	Several renewal windows close.
End of October	Most college-level schemes close.
About 15 days later	Defect correction and institute verification.
About 15 days after that	District, state or ministry verification.
November	The NMMSS state selection examination for Class VIII students.

What it should cost you

Nothing, if you do it yourself. A Common Service Centre charges a fixed ₹30 per candidate, all-inclusive — reference number, biometric authentication, registration and the full application. Anyone charging more is overcharging. Nobody should be paid a percentage of a scholarship.

Where to get help

Printable checklist

Print this page, or the section below, and tick as you go.

Are you eligible?