Issued by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Minority Scholarship (abbreviated as the MOMA Scholarships) is financial support provided to the students belonging to the minority communities of India. This support is in the form of scholarships, that will help meritorious students lacking appropriate financial stability from the minority communities to continue with their pursuit of education and not drop out of it because of lack of monetary sources.

According to the Constitution of India, the minority communities of the country include Muslims, Sikhs, Christian, Buddhists, Jain, and Zoroastrians (Parsi). Hence, any student from the above-mentioned communities is eligible to apply for availing this scholarship. The scholarship amount disbursed to each winning candidate can sum up to an amount of INR 20,000 per annum.

The scholarship scheme is divided into three categories; Pre-Matric Scholarships, Post-Matric Scholarships, and Merit-cum-Means Scholarships. This last category is only meant for professional and technical courses and can be pursued at the undergraduate/postgraduate level of education. The Government of India annually disburses about 30 lakh pre-matric scholarships, around 5 lakh post-matric scholarships, and over 60,000 merit-cum-means scholarships.

1. The scholarship amount covers all costs, including that of admission fees as well as tuition fees
2. The application for the application as well as disbursement of the amount takes place in an absolutely transparent manner
3. Application is done entirely online
4. Available in every state and union territory of India
5. Around 30% of each category of the scholarship is reserved for the girl child

Minority Scholarship 2020

Like every year, this year as well the Ministry of Minority Affairs has planned out the scheme for the Minority Scholarships. All the three categories of pre-matric, post-matric, and merit-cum-means scholarships can be availed this year. The announcement for the commencement of the applications for the scholarships is generally done by the month of August and applications continue to pour in till the month of October-November.

The last date for submitting the applications for this scholarship for the year 2020 is by 15^th November 2020. It takes the time till December to announce the results of the candidates who are selected for the scholarships. The applications are to be submitted online through the e-portal of the National Scholarship Portal(NSP).

 The deadlines for the application of each category of scholarship are listed below as follows:

1. Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme: 15^th October 2020
2. Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme: 31^st October 2020
3. Merit-cum-Means Scholarship: 31^st October 2020

Pre-matric Minority Scholarships

The pre-matric level of the Minority scholarships is only applicable to students enrolled in school between standard 1^st to standard 10^th. This scholarship aims to provide monetary grants to students in their under-studies so that there are less number of drop-outs from schools at this level. This scholarship is accessible to all under the minority communities enlisted, irrespective of their class being SC, ST, or OBC.

The eligibility criteria for availing this kind of scholarship are as follows:

1. Candidate must belong from the minority community
2. Candidate have to study in class 1 to 10
3. Should carry an average of 50% of marks
4. The annual income of the family should be lesser than INR 1,00,000
5. A maximum of two children per family can be allowed to apply

Minority Scholarship in Karnataka

The state of Karnataka also provides minority scholarships to students from the minority communities. Apart from the eligibility criterion mentioned by the Central Government for this scholarship, there are some other state-specific rules and criteria also apply. The students can apply to any of the three scholarships. The government of Karnataka uses this as an effective tool to financially support students who cannot afford higher education.

The eligibility criterion For Minority Scholarship in Karnataka follows:

1. Only for students belonging to Karnataka, i.e. a domicile holder of the state of Karnataka
2. The annual income of family less than INR 1,00,000
3. Must not have a backlog from previous examinations
4. Applicant should obtain more than 50% average in their last qualifying examination
5. Students who hold a permanent domicile in the state of Karnataka but stays elsewhere can also apply.

Minority Scholarship in West Bengal

Just like the other states, even the state of West Bengal provides scholarships and grants to not just the minority communities but also to other deserving candidates who are educationally meritorious but lack in financial stability and related resources that will help them excel further. 

Apart from the known three categories of scholarships available, there is one other scholarship scheme brought by the West Bengal Government itself, i.e. TSP (Talent Support Stipend). This stipend is managed and brought out by the MA & ME Department, Government of West Bengal.

The general eligibility for availing any these scholarships are:

1. Candidate must be a domiciled resident of West Bengal
2. Must have secured at least 50% marks in the previous applicable examinations
3. The annual income of the family should not exceed between INR 2,00,000 to INR 2,50,000
4. Since these scholarships are a part of welfare schemes meant for the benefit of only the under-privileged students, hence no other student may be allowed to apply to these scholarships.

Minority Scholarship Kerala

The state government of Kerala disburses pre-matric and post-matric scholarship opportunities to the students of this state who are meritorious yet belong from socially and economically weaker sections of the society. Their surrounding backwardness poses a barrier to their career of academics and through such scholarship schemes, they are assisted in funding their education.

The pre-matric and post-matric scholarships provide monetary support to the students studying in standard IX to X and to those who aspire to continue with their higher education through admission into good colleges; whether private or government ones.

The eligibility for this scholarship are as follows:

1. Candidate to be a domiciled resident from the state of Kerala only
2. The annual income of parents/guardian should not exceed INR 1,00,000
3. The candidate from only minority/backward/weaker sections can only apply
4. Minimum marks obtained in the previous qualifying examination should be at least 50%
5. The pre-matric scholarship is not applicable to students from standard I to VIII

Minority Scholarship UP

Being the largest state of India, Uttar Pradesh to undertakes the opportunity of providing scholarships to the students belonging from the minority communities. The pre-matric, post-matric (intermediate), and post-matric (other than intermediate) scholarships to the students in need. These scholarships are meant to reduce the financial burden of the parents, and the education of their meritorious wards are saved from being at stake.

Apart from these scholarships, the Uttar Pradesh state government also provides the added facility of transferring the monetary benefits of these scholarships online, especially for the girl child.

1. Applicable only to the domicile students of Uttar Pradesh, irrespective of being a current resident or nit
2. Must belong from the minority community
3. The pre-matric scholarship is for students studying in standard IX and X; while the post-matric(intermediate) scholarship is for students studying in standard XI and XII
4. Every minority candidate is eligible, irrespective of the fact as to they are enlisted in government or private institutions
5.  Family annual income must be between INR 1,00,000 to INR 2,00,000

Minority Scholarship Assam

The state of Assam provides all the three categories of scholarships as like the other states. Except the pre-matric scholarships that is funded by the Assam Minorities Development Board, the other two scholarships are both funded by the Directorate of Char Areas Development Assam.

While the merit-cum-means scholarship is for provided for candidates aspiring for any technical/professional courses, the pre-matric and post-matric scholarships if for providing monetary support to students among the school level only. 

1. Only for the candidate’s domicile of Assam
2. The application entirely is done online
3. Must belong from minority communities from Assam, irrespective of their social class
4. Annual income should not exceed INR 1,00,000

Minority Scholarship in Maharashtra 

The minority scholarships provided by the Government of Maharashtra is handled under the Minority Development Department. The recipient candidates for these scholarships should belong from the communities of Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Christian, Parsis and Jews. The total scholarship amount offered is around INR 25,000 per month.

1. Family’s income should be less than equal to INR 8,00,000
2. Candidate to be domicile of Maharashtra
3. 30% of scholarships reserved for girls
4. Also applicable to domicile residents of Maharashtra who are not current residents of the state of Maharashtra.

Apply for Minority Scholarship Online

These scholarships provided by all the states, issued under the Ministry of Minority Affairs can be applied through a completely online process. The online website of the National Scholarship Portal and other state websites are the places where you can apply online.

1. First, the candidate to register online on the NSP portal
2. Provide all relevant educational qualifications and other correct personal details
3. Details of Aadhar number, Bank details, and their domicile state name
4. The bank details should be absolutely correct to avoid any error in the final payment of the money to the candidates
5. Proof of belonging from the minority community

Minority Scholarship Renewal

The minority scholarships are generally of only a year-long duration. Hence the students may desire to renew their scholarship for another academic year if they continue to fit into the eligibility criterion. The process of applying as a renewed candidate also takes place online.

1. Renewal does not take place for students who have already completed their educational course/degree
2. If applying as a renewed candidate, then the application has to be made in the portal under the renewal category and not under fresh application to avoid duplicate entries.
3. While renewing, apart from the usual details being put up; the candidate has to mention the date of registration of the scholarship last year, along with correct bank account details.

Minority Scholarship Application Form

The application to access the Minority Scholarship schemes entirely takes place through the online portal. This step makes the process transparent on the part of the government and easier on the part of the candidate.

The link to the application form is as follows – Link

Minority Scholarship Amount

 The funding of these scholarships are usually undertaken by the respective state governments. The amount of money that can be received is different for each kind of scholarship. The exact amount is not mentioned; however, an approximate range of amount is mentioned. Also, this amount varies from one state to another. 

Minority Scholarship Income Limit

The minority scholarships are only meant to help fund the education of meritorious students whose education is often kept at stake because of the critical financial stability of their parents. This financial insecurity often leads to the students dropping out of education.

Thus, to ensure that the benefit of these scholarships only reaches to the candidate in need, the government as a part of the eligibility criterion of the scholarship scheme has put forward a specific income limit for the families of the candidates who wish to apply and benefit from this scheme.

The annual income limit of the family should not exceed INR 1,00,000 for the candidate to be considered eligible for the scholarship.

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