The Government approves a five-year extension of the National Means-Cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMSS)
The government has approved the continuation of the Central Sector National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMSS) over the 15th Finance Commission cycle for a period of five years, from 2021-22 to 2025-26, with a financial outlay of Rs. 1827.00 crore and minor changes to eligibility criteria, such as raising the annual income ceiling from Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs.3.5 lakh and revising the scheme’s renewal criteria.
The scheme’s goal is to provide scholarships to deserving children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in order to prevent them from dropping out of eighth grade and encourage them to continue their studies at the secondary level. Every year, one lakh new scholarships of Rs.12,000 per annum (Rs.1000 per month) are awarded to selected students in class IX, with the possibility of continuation/renewal in classes X to XII, for study at State Government, Government-aided, and Local Body institutions. Scholarships are awarded to students who pass an examination administered by the state/UT governments.
The programme has been registered with the National Scholarship Portal (NSP). Scholarships are directly deposited into students’ bank accounts via electronic transfer using the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) in DBT mode. The scheme’s funds are entirely provided by the federal government. Since the scheme’s inception in 2008-09, 22.06 lakh scholarships have been awarded, with a total cost of Rs. 1783.03 crore.With a budget of Rs.1827.00 crores allocated for the scheme, it is proposed to award scholarships to 14.76 lakh students.