National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students 2024-25: Eligibility, Amount, Application, Documents

National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students: Objective  

There are very defined objectives and scope of the National Overseas Scholarship decided for Scheduled Tribes students to study abroad. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is committed to uplift the poor and marginalized groups of this society by providing them extra opportunities in higher education from reputed institutions of the World.

Objective of National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students

The main objectives of the National Overseas Scholarship  for ST Students is to provide financial assistance to meritorious students of the Scheduled Tribes communities for higher education abroad. The aim of the Central Government is to empower the cable students through scholarship by giving access to quality international educational institutions for higher studies, such as Master degree, Ph.D. and Post-Doctoral courses. Thus, through the National Overseas Scholarship enhancing the professional capabilities and socio-economic status of the Scheduled Tribes communities of Indian societies. 

National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students: Scope

Scope of the National Overseas Scholarship  for ST Students comprises:

1. The Number of Awards to different categories of students of ST communities
2. Fields/ Disciplines of Study
3. Subject/Discipline Wise Slots/ Number of Scholarship 
4. Duration of Award

Scope of National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students

1. Number of Awards Category Wise

The total number of NOS Scholarship to different categories of ST students are as:

Note: 30% of the total number of NOS scholarships (i.e. 20) are reserved for female students of ST communities.

2. Fields/Disciplines of Study

The fields or disciplines under national overseas scholarship for ST students to study abroad are:

(i) Pure Science/Applied Science, Technology, Engineering,  Mathematics (i.e. STEM)

(ii) Management,

(iii) Finance,

(iv) Economics,

(v) Law,

(vi) Medicine/Agriculture,

(vii) Social Science/Humanities/ Fine Arts.

3. Subject/Discipline Wise Slots/ Number of Scholarship Alloted

The number of National Overseas Scholarship for ST students in each field or discipline prescribed for higher studies abroad are given in the table below:

Note: The National Overseas Scholarship for ST students is sanctioned to a candidate to study abroad for a particular course, he/she shall not change the course of study or research and the assigned Institute.

4. Duration of Award for Financial Assistance 

Financial assistance or National Overseas Scholarship to ST students will be provided for the prescribed period/duration of the course or till the completion of the course/ research, whichever is earlier, as the prescribed duration are given below:

Note: Beyond the prescribed duration as mentioned above for levels of courses, extension of stay will be permitted but without financial assistance of any kind except the air passage to return to India, if the student decides to return to India after completion of the course for which he or she is studying.

National Overseas Scholarship Amount for ST Students: Value of Scholarship

The amount sanctioned under the National Overseas Scholarship for ST students for different countries are given in the table below: 

Note: The Indian Mission/Embassy located in the country where students study abroad will disburse the above financial assistance/amount listed under different components to the institute and the student. The same value of Scholarship will be  reimbursed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the Ministry of the External Affairs.

National Overseas Scholarship Eligibility for ST Students

Applicants must know the complete eligibility criteria of National Overseas Scholarship 2024 for ST students before filling up the application form. The detailed information on National Overseas Scholarship Eligibility for ST students are given below:

A. General Criteria

• The applicants must be citizens of India.
• The Candidates of NOS scholarship must be from a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.
• He/She must be the only child in the family of ST community either availing or has availed this scholarship. Thus, not more than one child of the same parents of ST community will be eligible for NOS scholarship.
• The same candidate will not be eligible for only one award and can not be considered for any other award or same/ higher level of award for the second time under the NOS Scholarship Scheme for ST students.
• Any course of Bachelor-level in any discipline is not covered under the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for ST students.

B. Academic Qualification and Age of Students

The education qualification and age of students for prescribed courses are given in the table below:

Note: The marks criteria obtained in Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree will not be applicable in case of those applicants who have already obtained admission in top 1000 Institutes as QS World ranking.

C. Income Criteria of Students’ Family

The total family income of applicants from all sources does not exceed ₹ 6,00,000/- (Rs. Six lakhs only) per annum. The income of family shall be computed as:

1. If both father and mother are working, their combined income from all sources will be considered as total family income.
2. Other than father’s and mother’s income will not be considered as family income if any other member of the family is working to earn in the family.
3. If only one parent is alive, the only income of that parent will be considered as total family income. Because if another sibling or family member is earning then his/her income will not be taken into account.
4. If an applicant is an orphan and supported by a guardian, in this case income criteria shall not apply for the award of National Overseas Scholarship to ST students for study abroad.

Documents for National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students 

There are some documents required to upload at the time of registration and filling up application form for the National Overseas Scholarship for ST students, such as:

• Applicant’s latest colourd passport size photo.
• Cast certificate of ST community issued by the competent authority.
• Cast certificate of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) issued by the competent authority.
• Certificate or Marksheet of Xth class in PDF only in support of Date of Birth (DOB).
• Candidate’s family income certificate in PDF form.
• Candidate’s marksheet of graduation and conversion factor formulae from CGPA to equivalent % of marks in PDF form only for application in Master degree course abroad.
• Candidate’s marksheet of master degree and conversion factor formulae from CGPA to equivalent % of marks in PDF form only if applying for Ph.D course in an Institute/ University abroad.
• Certificate/Degree of Ph.D completion wherever applicable or conversion sheet of aggregate marks into % to be issued by University/Institute.
• Candidate’s latest ITR/Form-16 in PDF form only.
• Admission or Offer Letter to the candidate by the Institute/University in PFD form only.

Note: The candidate’s above documents should be in his/her DigiLocker ID (…digilocker.gov.in) either in the issued documents section or in DigiLocker Drive.

National Overseas Scholarship Application Process: For ST Students

A. Online Registration on Digilocker Portal for NOS Scholarship 

• Applicants of National Overseas Scholarship for ST students should visit – Digilocker Portal
• They should fill-up required credentials, such as: Full Name, Date of Birth (DOB), Date, their Mob. No., Email ID, and Set 6 digit security PIN.
• Submit the OTP sent on Mob. NO. and enter their Aadhaar Number.
• Then log in to their account. 
• Upload all the required documents for NOS Scholarship at “Uploaded documents” section, if any application process related document is not under issued documents.

B. Registration Process on National Overseas Portal

The candidates try National Overseas Scholarship for ST students and fulfil the eligibility criteria for the same are required to apply online in following steps:

• The applicants for NOS Scholarship need to visit – Overseas Portal of Ministry of Tribal Affairs
• They are required to enter their: Name, Date of Birth, Mobile Number, Email ID, District, State, and set a Password.
• Then click on “Register” button after verifying the captcha.
• A new screen will open, enter here the OTP received on a given Mobile Number. After it the confirmation message like “Your registration completed successfully” will appear.

C. National Overseas Scholarship Login: Process of Filling up Application Form