Brief Objective The objective of the scheme is to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage. Benefits The amount of scholarship will be Rs. 12000/- per annum @ Rs. 1000 per month per student to selected students every year to study in classes from IX to XII in State Government, Government aided and local body schools. These scholarships will be provided on yearly basis to the students studying as regular students in class IX in a Government, Government-aided and local bodyschools which will be renewed for classes X, XI and XII. Thus the scholarships will be for a maximum period of four years. Eligibility Parental income is not more than Rs. 3,50,000/- per annum from all sources (w.e.f 2021-22) The student should have minimum of 55% marks or equivalent grade in Class VII examination for appearing in selection test for award of scholarship. How to apply A separate examination shall be conducted by the State Governments/UT Administrations for selection of students for the award of the National Meanscum-Merit Scholarships in the States/UTs. For online application, click here Whom to contact Department of School Education. For more information, click here