The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment funds postgraduate study in any field at accredited foreign institutions. It offers 125 fresh awards each selection year.
Applicants must belong to one of the scheme’s specified social or occupational categories. The first 2026–27 round is closed; a second round is expected in September or October only if slots remain.
Benefits & funding
- Tuition fees are covered at the amount charged by the institution.
- Annual maintenance is USD 15,400 outside the UK or GBP 9,900 in the UK.
- Annual contingency support is USD 1,500 outside the UK or GBP 1,100 in the UK.
- The scheme covers actual visa fees and medical insurance, a USD 20 incidental journey allowance, and economy travel by the shortest route under its booking rules.
- Funding lasts for the sanctioned course period or up to three years for a Master’s degree and four years for a PhD, whichever is earlier.
Eligibility
- Applicants must belong to a Scheduled Caste; a Denotified, Nomadic or Semi-Nomadic Tribe; a landless agricultural labourer family; or a traditional artisan family, with the relevant certificate.
- Gross annual family income from all sources must not exceed INR 800,000 for the last completed financial year.
- Applicants must be no older than 35 on April 1 of the selection year.
- A minimum of 60% or equivalent is required in the qualifying degree: a Bachelor’s degree for Master’s study or a Master’s degree for PhD study.
- Applicants must not already be staying, studying, or have completed studies abroad using another scholarship or their own funds.
- An unconditional foreign-university offer is required; first-round selection is limited to top-500 QS institutions, while a second round uses the published institutional priority order.
- The scholarship cannot fund a degree at a level the applicant has already completed.
- Thirty percent of annual awards are earmarked for women, but unused places may be reassigned.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Residence required
India
Education required
Bachelor · Master
Age requirement
≤ 35 yrs
Appears to be for women “for women”
confirm in the requirements
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Application process
- 1Register on the NOS portal using the candidate registration form.
- 2Log in and complete the online application with category, identity, address, qualifying-degree, marks, income, and foreign-admission documents; employed applicants also provide an employer NOC.
- 3Submit the completed form online and retain the Application Registration Number sent after successful submission.
- 4If provisionally selected, complete original-document verification and submit the required declarations, passport, bonds, solvency certificates, health certificate, and visa documents before confirmation.
Program timeline
First-round applications opened.
April 24, 2026
First-round application deadline.
June 2, 2026
Correction window for submitted applications; no new registrations.
June 4–7, 2026
Tentative 40-day second-round window, subject to unfilled slots.
September or October 2026
After each round closes
Administrative scrutiny takes about 20–30 days, followed by about 10–15 days for committee review.