The National Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students – the Ministry of Tribal Affairs scheme until recently called Top Class Education for Scheduled Tribe Students – pays the full admission and tuition fee, a Rs 3,000 a month stipend, Rs 5,000 a year for books and a one-time Rs 45,000 for a computer to ST students in 252 notified premier institutions. The 2026-27 application on the National Scholarship Portal closes on 31 October 2026.
This is a central sector scheme, fully funded by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, for graduate and post-graduate courses in institutes the Ministry has notified – IIMs, IITs, NITs, AIIMS, NLUs and the other premier institutions on its Annexure-I list. One rule decides most rejections: the scheme pays only for merit admission. A management-quota seat in a private institute gets nothing, even if every other condition is met.
The full value table, income test, documentation and portal dates below come from the scheme guideline PDF that the National Scholarship Portal links for this cycle.
ST scholarship at a glance
Quick facts2026-27
| Scholarship from | Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India – National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students (Central Sector Scheme) |
| Last date to apply | 31 October 2026 (student application on the National Scholarship Portal); defective application and institute verification 15 November 2026; DNO/SNO/MNO verification 30 November 2026 |
| Official website | National Scholarship Portal – Tribal Affairs ST scholarship window and 2026-27 closing dates (official) |
What the scheme pays
- Tuition fee, admission fee and other non-refundable charges in full for government institutes. For private institutes there is a ceiling of Rs 2.50 lakh per annum per student.
- Books and stationery: Rs 5,000 per annum, paid without bills or vouchers.
- Stipend: Rs 3,000 per month.
- Computer and accessories: Rs 45,000 one-time during the course, either a desktop or a laptop, paid without bills or vouchers.
- The scholarship is 100 per cent funded by the Ministry – there is no state share and no institute contribution to arrange.
Money moves in two streams. The stipend, book grant, computer money and non-refundable fees reach you directly by PFMS-DBT into your Aadhaar-seeded bank account. Tuition and admission fee are released to the institute through PFMS – and if you already paid them at admission, they are reimbursed to your account on submission of the receipt.
Who is eligible
- You belong to a Scheduled Tribe (a PVTG certificate is also accepted) with a certificate signed and stamped by the competent authority.
- Total family income from all sources is Rs 6.0 lakh per annum or less. If both parents work, their incomes are added together. For an orphan supported by a guardian, the income test does not apply. For married candidates the spouse’s income is added.
- You have secured admission on merit in a graduate or post-graduate course in one of the 252 notified institutions listed in the guideline’s Annexure-I.
- The course must be one approved and notified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- Income is gross income from all sources – salary, interest, house property, business and agricultural income. Income-tax deductions and exemptions under sections 10 and 80 do not reduce it.
Who is not eligible
- Students admitted in the management quota of a private institute – the guideline rules them out explicitly.
- Students who take admission in a non-notified institute, or in a course the Ministry has not approved, even if the institute itself is on the list.
- Students already claiming any other scholarship from the Centre or a state government for the same study.
- Students in notified institutions who want the Ministry’s Post-Matric Scholarship – the two cannot be combined, and the guideline bars the Post-Matric route for students admitted to these 252 institutions specifically to avoid duplication.
Documents to upload on NSP
- ST certificate or PVTG certificate – fresh candidates only; not required for renewal.
- Income certificate for the financial year preceding the year of selection, issued by the designated state or UT authority – fresh candidates only.
- Fee receipt – both fresh and renewal candidates.
- Bank passbook scan, with the student’s name matching the application form.
- Mark sheet of the qualifying examination – class 12 for a graduate course, graduation for a post-graduate course; for renewal, the last semester mark sheet.
- Bonafide certificate issued by the institute – both fresh and renewal candidates.
How the application is processed
- Register on the National Scholarship Portal and submit the application with the documents above by 31 October 2026.
- The institute’s nodal officer verifies your physical documents against the uploads and forwards the application. Institutes cannot charge a verification fee.
- If the application is found defective it comes back to you once, and you resubmit it at the institute level within the correction window, which closes on 15 November 2026.
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs verifies the forwarded applications and publishes the selection list on its website; DNO/SNO/MNO verification closes on 30 November 2026.
- Payment is released once a year through PFMS after the institute submits its utilisation certificate and the expenditure is updated on PFMS.
How long the scholarship runs
- The scholarship is awarded once and continues until the course tenure is completed, as long as your performance is satisfactory as assessed by the institute.
- There is no institute-wise, state-wise or stream-wise ceiling on the number of slots – every eligible, verified student is funded.
- The duration is whatever the course’s own duration is, as fixed by the institute – so an integrated or five-year course is covered for its full length.
Frequently asked questions
The student application on the National Scholarship Portal closes on 31 October 2026. Defective applications can be corrected and institutes can verify until 15 November 2026, and DNO, SNO and MNO verification closes on 30 November 2026.
Full admission and tuition fee plus other non-refundable charges for government institutes, with a ceiling of Rs 2.50 lakh per annum in private institutes, a stipend of Rs 3,000 per month, Rs 5,000 per annum for books and stationery, and a one-time Rs 45,000 for a computer or laptop.
Total family income from all sources must be Rs 6.0 lakh per annum or less. If both parents work, their incomes are combined. The income test does not apply to an orphan supported by a guardian, and for married candidates the spouse’s income is added.
Yes. It covers graduate and post-graduate courses in the 252 institutions notified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and listed in Annexure-I of the scheme guideline, and only courses the Ministry has approved.
No. Students admitted in the management quota of a private institute are not entitled to the scholarship. Admission must be on merit.
No. Students availing this scholarship cannot claim any other scholarship from the Centre or a state government for the same study, and students in these notified institutions are also barred from the Ministry’s Post-Matric Scholarship.
The award continues till the course tenure is completed, subject to satisfactory performance assessed by the institute. Renewal applications do not need the ST or income certificate again – only the fee receipt, passbook, mark sheet and bonafide certificate.
Official links
Related reading: Guidelines – National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students (official PDF)
National Scholarship Portal – all schemes with 2026-27 closing dates
More schemes for ST, SC and OBC students are on our SC, ST and OBC scholarship page, and the graduation and post-graduation hubs list the rest of the 2026-27 windows closing this month.
Related scholarship posts
- Top Class Scholarship for SC students – the SC counterpart of this scheme
- PM YASASVI Top Class College Scholarship for OBC, EBC and DNT students
- Ishan Uday special scholarship for north-eastern region students