35,181 Scholarships Released Under Merit-Cum-Means

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.
Under the Merit-Cum-Means Scholarship Scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, a total number of 35,181 scholarships have been released up to 31st January 2012 during the current Financial Year.

As per the latest data available with the Ministry of Minority Affairs, as on 31st Jan 2012, a total of 19, 487 fresh scholarships with a target of 20,000 fresh scholarships and 15,694 renewal scholarships had been released during the current Financial Year 2011-12. For awarding these 35,181 scholarships, an amount of over Rs.96.27 crore has been released by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The Scheme now offers all the States and Union Territories.

The objective of the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme is to provide financial assistance to the poor and meritorious students belonging to minority communities to enable them to pursue professional and technical courses.

These scholarships are available for students in India only and are awarded through an Agency designated by the State Government / UT Administration for this purpose. The scheme was launched in the year 2007-08 . As per the general guidelines for the Scheme, 30% Scholarships are reserved for the girl students.