National Fellowship Scheme for ST Students : This is a Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs and every year 750 fresh ST students are given fellowship for pursuing M.Phil and Ph. D. Courses. The applications are invited online on National Fellowship Portal. Interested and eligible students can apply online at the official portal of NSP i.e. scholarships.gov.in. All the information related to National Fellowship Scheme for Scheduled Tribe(ST) is given below, after reading which you can easily apply online.
National Fellowship Scheme for ST Students 2023-24: Overview
| Scholarship Name | National Fellowship Scheme for Schedule Tribe (ST) students |
| Department Name | MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA |
| Academic Year | 2023-24 |
| Application Last Date | 15 January 2024 |
| Homepage | Scholarship Online |
Eligibility Criteria
- Students can take admission for regular and full time M. Phil/Ph.D courses
- The candidates should have minimum 55% marks at the final examination/grading at PG level.
- There is no income criteria for eligibility in respect of this scholarship.
- Maximum 36 years, as on first day of July of the relevant year of the award of scholarship.
Scholarship Amount
| Course | Amount (Monthly) | Contingency Annually |
| M.Phil Humanities& Social Sciences | Rs.31000/- | Rs.10,000/- |
| M.Phil Science/Engineering Technology | Rs.31000/- | Rs.12,000/- |
| Ph.D Humanities& Social Sciences | Rs.31000/- for first two years and Rs.35000/- for remaining 3 years | Rs.20,500/- Rs.25,000/- |
| Ph.D Science/Engineering Technology | Rs.31000/- for first two years and Rs.35000/- for remaining 3 years | Rs.25,000/- |
Note:
- HRA for all the courses (monthly): Equal to UGC rates [8% or 16% or 24% based on city]
- Escort Allowance for Divyanjan (monthly): Rs.2000/- (at par with UGC rates)
Documents Required
Applicants must upload the following documents on the portal during the registration process:
- Latest colored passport-size photograph
- Scheduled Caste (ST)/Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) certificate issued by the competent authority
- 10th/matriculation/equivalent certificate as proof of date of birth
- PwD certificate issued by the competent authority
- Post-graduation mark sheet (displaying aggregate marks in %) or equivalent % marks if CGPA is used
- Admission/joining certificate for M.Phil./Ph.D./Integrated M.Phil. + Ph.D. from the respective university
- Offer of admission letter for students admitted to IITs/AIIMS/IIMs/IISERs
National Fellowship Scheme for ST Students Total Number of Fellowship
1. Each year, 750 fresh fellowships will be available under this program.
2. If there are not enough Scheduled Tribe candidates available to utilise all the fellowships, the unallocated fellowships for that academic year will be rolled over to the next academic session.
3. No specific state or university-wise ceiling is imposed on the number of fellowship slots.
4. When the number of candidates exceeds the available fellowship slots, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) will select the candidates based on their marks in their most recent examination.
5. Fellowship slots will be allocated based on priority to the following sub-categories:
- Persons with Disability (PwD): 5% of the total slots
- Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG): 25 slots
- Scheduled Tribe, Others: 462 slots
- Female Candidates: 30% of the total slots
6. If an adequate number of applications are not received for the sub-categories mentioned above, the remaining slots will be allotted to eligible Scheduled Tribe candidates based on inter-se-merit which is the order of merit defined by the University on the basis of the marks obtained in the most recently conducted examination.
National Fellowship Scheme for ST Students Selection Process
- The research scholarship application is submitted annually through the online portal at fellowship.tribal.gov.in, developed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- The portal’s opening and closing dates are publicized through print, electronic media, universities, and institutes. Typically, it opens on July 1st and closes on September 30th, subject to change based on circumstances communicated through the Ministry’s portal.
- Applicants should regularly check the portal for updates on application form availability.
- Before applying, scholars must review the Instruction Manual available on the portal.
- A help desk module on the portal assists with inquiries and support.
- Scholars must register on the fellowship portal and create accounts on Digi Locker, with Aadhaar number as a mandatory requirement for document uploading.
- The portal enables online verification by universities, requiring registration of a Nodal Officer and a verifying officer.
- Nodal Officers verify physical documents uploaded by scholars on the portal.
- Universities ensure accuracy of scholar information and document matching during verification.
- The Ministry verifies the application online upon receiving details verified by the institute.
- If discrepancies are found, the Ministry labels the application as defective, visible to the student.
- Students correct defective applications and resubmit through the institute’s portal.
- The institute re-verifies the corrected application and submits it to the Ministry through the portal before the deadline.
- A merit list is compiled for eligible scholars, considering post-graduation performance and selection criteria set by the committee.
- Allocation of slots across research streams follows the methodology adopted by the committee.