PM Scholarship Scheme 2026: 1.2 Lakh Merit Scholarships Announced — Rs 25,000 Per Year for 5 Years
The Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme has been significantly expanded with enhanced amounts and 40,000 new seats for students from economically weaker sections pursuing professional courses.
Representative image. Photo: Nationalism News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a major expansion of the PM Scholarship Scheme on Saturday, increasing the total number of merit-based scholarships to 1.2 lakh per year with an enhanced annual amount of Rs 25,000 (up from Rs 20,000) for a duration of five years. The scheme will cover students pursuing professional courses in engineering, medicine, law, management and teacher training.
The scheme is open to students who have passed Class 12 with above 75% marks and have family income below Rs 8 lakh per annum. For students from households with income below Rs 3 lakh, there is an additional support of Rs 5,000 per year for books and hostel expenses.
A new digital application portal — scholarship.gov.in — has been launched with Aadhaar-linked verification to eliminate fake beneficiaries. The scholarship amount will be directly transferred to students' bank accounts within 30 days of the semester beginning, without requiring a no-objection certificate from the institution.
The expansion also includes 15,000 specific scholarships for Divyaang (differently abled) students and 20,000 scholarships for students from North Eastern states and aspirational districts. Girls pursuing STEM subjects will receive an additional Rs 3,000 per year as an incentive.
Minister of Education stated that the total annual outlay for the expanded scheme is Rs 3,200 crore, a 60% increase from the previous year. "We want no deserving student to stop their education due to financial constraints," the minister said.
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