Post-Graduate Scholarships for Professional Courses for SC/ST Candidates

The scheme “Post Graduate Scholarships for Professional Courses for SC/ST Candidates” has been initiated to provide opportunities to the deprived sections of the society, viz. the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) for undertaking postgraduate level studies in Professional subjects like Engineering & Technology, Management, Pharmacy etc. in recognized Indian Universities/Institutions/Colleges.

Objective:

The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to 1000 SC/ST candidates to pursue postgraduate level studies in Professional courses.

1. The tenure of the award is for two/three years depending upon the tenure of the postgraduate course and not for an extended period of study, if any.
2. Candidates selected for the award of PG scholarships (under ME/M.Tech.) shall be provided a Scholarship @ ₹7800/-per month for the duration of the PG Scholarship.
3. For other courses, the amount of scholarship will be paid @₹4500/- per month.
4. No contingency is payable to the students selected under the scheme with effect from the selection year 2017-18.
5. The scholarship shall be payable to the awardee from the date of joining the Post Graduate 1 year course during the selection year.

1. The students should belong to the SC/ST category.
2. The candidate must have obtained a Graduate degree in the relevant subject and obtained admission at the Postgraduate level for regular full-time courses in any of the Professional subjects in a recognized University/Institution/College.
3. Only students pursuing the first year of a postgraduate course during the current academic year are eligible to apply.
4. For the purpose of award of the scholarship to students who are pursuing professional courses in the following Institutions/ Colleges/Universities:

• Universities/Institutions/Colleges included under section 2(f) & and 12(B) of UGC Act.
• Deemed to be Universities included under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, and eligible to receive grants-in-aid from UGC.
• Universities/Institutions/College funded by Central/State Government.
• Institutes of National Importance.

Note 01: Courses which require approval from the Regulatory Council i.e. Medical Council of India (MCI), Dental Council of India (DCI), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), NCTIS, NCTE Bar Council of India (BCI), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), INC, Forensic Regulatory & Development Authority of India are considered professional courses.
Note 02: M.A., M.Sc., M.Com., MSW and Mass Communication and Journalism degree are accepted as “Non-professional courses”.

Renewals:

1. Scholarship granted under the scheme will be kept renewed during the period of first-year Post-Graduate courses subject to good conduct and maintenance of prescribed attendance.
2. The scholarship will be renewed for the next year of study on receipt of an annual progress report to be granted by the administrative head of the University/ Institution/ College. (E.g. Registrar of a University/Director of the Institution/ Principal of the College or any other officer designated by them).
3. Students failing to get promoted to the next class/level would forfeit the scholarship.
4. Change in the course of study will not be permitted.
5. The awardees of previous years will continue to follow the UGC pattern of assistance through the designated bank branches of Canara Bank.

Cancellation of Award: The scholarship of a student may be cancelled in any of the following cases:-

1. Failure of the awardee to pass the first year of the Post-Graduate course in first division or equivalent CGPA score.
2. Discontinuation of studies due to personal reasons.
3. The candidate is later found ineligible on account of false information provided in the online application or incorrect bank details.

1. General category/ OBC candidates are not eligible to apply under the scheme.
2. Candidates pursuing postgraduate courses in professional subjects through correspondence or in Distance Education mode are not eligible to receive financial assistance under this scheme.

Online

Step 01: The candidates fulfilling the eligibility conditions are required to apply online on the National Scholarship Portal after the issue of an advertisement to be published by the UGC once in a year through leading newspapers and Employment News and also on the UGC website.
Step 02: Eligible candidates can apply by clicking on the “Apply Now” option.
Step 03: Navigate to “Applicant Corner” and click on “New Registration”.
Step 04: Fill all the mandatory details and click on the 'Register' button.
Step 05: The mobile number will be verified and an OTP will be generated.
Step 06: Now, login using OTP and fill out the application form.
Step 07: After successful submission of the application form, an application ID and password will be generated which can be used for future references.
Step 08: The host institution where the candidate is studying is required to verify the online application.

Procedure for release of the grant by the UGC:

Step 01: After selection, the awardees will be paid a scholarship on DBT mode.
Step 02: The list of awardees will be pushed to the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) by the NIC.
Step 03: PFMS will generate payment files of the awardees and the scholarship will be paid for the complete duration of the post-graduate course.