Education Ministry extends National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme Application Date; Check Details

The last date to submit applications under the scheme has been extended up to September 30, 2025 on National Scholarship Portal

The last date to submit applications for the National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) for the year 2025-26 has been extended to September 30, 2025. The scheme provides one lakh fresh scholarships every year for Class IX students who clear the qualifying exam for the scholarship conducted by the State and Union Territory governments.

The National Scholarship Portal (NSP) portal is open for submission of applications by students with effect from June 02, 2025. In this project year 2025-26, the selected students are first to do a one-time registration (OTR) on the NSP, after which they have to apply for the scholarship scheme that they have selected. The FAQ details for registration on NSP can be accessed at https://scholarships.gov.in/studentFAQs.

The ‘National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme,’ is implemented by the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, under which scholarships are awarded to meritorious students from economically weaker sections to arrest their drop-out after elementary level, i.e., Class VIII and encourage them to complete their school education up to higher secondary level, i.e., Class XII.

NMMSS Scholarship Details

The scheme provides one lakh fresh scholarships every year for Class IX students who clear the qualifying exam for the scholarship conducted by the State/UT governments. The scholarship is continued through renewal mode from Classes X to XII based on the student's academic performance. The scheme is applicable only to students studying in State Government, Government-aided and local body schools and the scholarship amount is Rs. 12000 per annum per student.

As per a statement by the Education Ministry, the NMMSS is implemented through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) - the one-stop platform for scholarship schemes disbursed to students by the Government of India. As of August 30, 2025, 85,420 fresh and 1,72,027 renewal applications have been submitted by the applicants.

NMMSS scholarships are disbursed directly into the bank accounts of selected students by electronic transfer through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) following DBT mode. The eligibility parameters for availing the scholarship include parental income not more than Rs. 3.50 lakh per annum, a minimum of 55% marks or equivalent grade in the Class VII examination for appearing in the selection test for award of scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST students).

Process of Selection

On the NSP portal, there are two levels of verification of the scholarship application of selected students, Level-1 (L1) verification is at the Institute Nodal Officer (INO) and Level-2 (L2) is with the District Nodal Officer (DNO). The last date for INO level (L1) verification is 15.10.2025 and for DNO level (L2) verification is 31.10.2025.

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