Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend Scheme

What is the Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend Scheme?

Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend Scheme is a fully state-funded scholarship run by the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education (DHTE) under the Department of Education, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. The scheme's governing document is the "Scheme for Award of Stipend to the Scheduled Tribe Students of Arunachal Pradesh Pursuing Higher and Technical Education; Rules and Regulations, 2012", which named it the Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend Scheme 2012 and brought it into force with effect from 1 April 2012.

The object stated in the rules is straightforward: to provide financial assistance to Scheduled Tribe students of Arunachal Pradesh so that they can pursue courses of higher study approved by the state government. The scheme extends only to Scheduled Tribe students of Arunachal Pradesh, commonly called APST students.

According to the DHTE notice dated 31 July 2026, the scheme pays Rs 16,400 per annum. The 2016 rate notification, approved by the State Cabinet and concurred in by the Finance Department, breaks that figure down as a stipend of Rs 1,400 per month for 11 months plus a book grant of Rs 1,000 per annum, applicable uniformly to all approved courses from B.A. and B.Sc. through to M.Tech, MBBS, B.E./B.Tech, MBA and Ph.D.

Who is eligible for the Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend?

You can apply if:

• You belong to a Scheduled Tribe of the state as notified by the Central or State Government and are a permanent resident of Arunachal Pradesh.
• You are studying at a recognised institution, recognised by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, the Government of India, or another State or Union Territory government.
• Your course is one of the 24 approved courses listed in the rules. These include B.A./B.Com/B.P.Ed, B.Sc., M.A./M.Com/LLB/M.P.Ed/LLM/MPMC/M.Ed, M.Sc., M.Phil, Ph.D, B.Sc. (Agri/Horticulture/Forestry/Fishery)/B.E./B.V.Sc., MBBS, BDS/BHMS/BAMS, Diploma (Engineering)/X-Ray technician/Ophthalmic Assistant, B.Pharma/B.Sc. (Nursing), D. Pharma, Laboratory Technician/ECG Technician, BCA, MCA, BBA, MBA, PGDMC, TT & HM (Diploma), BFA, MFA, B.Ed, CA and M.Tech.
• Your attendance is 75 per cent or above in the month claimed, or your absence is certified on health or bereavement grounds.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are a Scheduled Tribe student in full-time employment. The rules define full-time employment as employment of a person on regular payment, temporary or permanent, and the 2026-27 notice repeats that regular government servants enrolled as students are not eligible.
• You failed a class and were re-admitted at the same level in a different course or stream: no stipend is admissible for that class. A girl student who fails may be allowed a one-time stipend for the same class in the next year on the specific recommendation of the Head of Institution.
• Disciplinary action has been taken against you.
• Your attendance is below 75 per cent in any month, without a certified reason of health or bereavement.
• You study through a correspondence course or distance education mode.
• Your institution is not recognised by a state or central regulator such as UGC, AICTE, MCI, DCI, BCI or CCH.
• You are already drawing another stipend or scholarship. A stipend holder cannot take a scholarship from any other source; if another award is granted, you must opt for one and surrender the other.
• You are taking a subsidiary or additional course, such as an LL.B. alongside an M.A. Where a student runs two courses, stipend is given for one only.

How to apply for the Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend Scheme

1. Complete your One Time Registration (OTR) on the National Scholarship Portal at scholarships.gov.in. OTR is mandatory, and the step-by-step process is published under the Announcement section of the NSP dashboard.
2. Check that your Aadhaar is seeded and mapped to at least one bank account with a nationalised bank, that the account is fully operational and is neither a minor nor a dormant account, and that it can receive Aadhaar Based Payment. You can check the Aadhaar-bank linking status on the NSP website.
3. Log in to NSP and select "Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend Scheme" from your dashboard. Select this scheme or the Post Matric Scholarship to ST Students under the Umbrella Scheme, never both, because NSP summarily rejects an applicant whose data appears in multiple schemes.
4. Fill the online application with your course, present year, institute and personal details, and upload the supporting documents — APST certificate, Aadhaar, bonafide certificate, income certificate and the mark sheet of your last examination.
5. Submit the application before 16 October 2026 for the 2026-27 session, and note your Application ID.
6. Contact your Institute Nodal Officer (INO) immediately after submission so that institutional verification is completed by 20 October 2026. If your application is marked defective, resubmit it and inform the INO so the "Re-verify documents" option is exercised.
7. Track the application by logging in to NSP with your Application ID or OTR and password until payment is credited.

Offline applications are not entertained under any circumstances for the online NSP route. The Directorate has stated that it disburses stipend through online mode only, to students who register successfully through NSP 3.0.

Students applying for stipend in specialised professional streams should note a separate routing rule from the DHTE: applications for Agriculture, Horticulture, Fishery, Veterinary and Medical Education courses are submitted to the concerned department, while general and technical courses go to the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education at Itanagar.

What are the key dates for 2026-27?

The DHTE notice is explicit that incorrect applications or partially filled applications after the last date will not be considered under any circumstances.

How is the stipend paid?

The stipend is released by Direct Benefit Transfer through the Public Finance Management System (IFMIS/PFMS) platform into the Aadhaar-seeded bank account given by the student. Payment is subject to availability of funds.

Under the 2012 rules, stipend is payable from the date of admission to the course, but if you take admission after the 20th day of a month, the stipend becomes admissible only from the next month. Stipend is not admissible for the period when the institution is closed for vacation, which is why the annual rate is calculated on 11 months rather than 12.

Grant or continuance of the stipend depends on satisfactory progress and good conduct. If the Head of Institution or the local administration reports that a stipend holder has failed to make satisfactory progress by his or her own default, or has been found guilty of misconduct such as participation in a strike, or has been irregular in attendance, the stipend is discontinued. The government also reserves the right to cancel, stop or withhold payment.

How to check your application and payment status

1. Log in to scholarships.gov.in with your Application ID or OTR and password.
2. Open the status page on your student dashboard to see whether the application is pending at institute level, pending at State Nodal Officer level, verified, defective or paid.
3. If the application shows as defective, correct the flagged field or document, resubmit, and tell your Institute Nodal Officer to re-verify.
4. If the scheme does not appear on your dashboard at all, contact your Institute Nodal Officer for support.

The Directorate also publishes, year by year on its stipend page, the lists of beneficiaries against which amounts have been sanctioned under the State Stipend Scheme, along with notices about payment failures and token generation issues.

Why applications get rejected or payments fail

• Applying under two schemes. Data found in both the State Stipend Scheme and the Post Matric Scholarship leads to summary rejection.
• Aadhaar not seeded with a bank account, or the account is a minor account, dormant, or unable to receive Aadhaar Based Payment.
• Institutional verification not done in time. The student submitted on time but the institute did not verify by the cut-off date.
• Regular government employment discovered by the institution during verification of employment status.
• Documents not matching: APST certificate, income certificate, bonafide certificate, name of course or present year inconsistent with the application.
• Attendance below 75 per cent or disciplinary action reported by the institution.

Where to get help

• State helpline: +91-6009924943 (WhatsApp, text or call), available 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on office working days. Always quote your Application ID or OTR.
• NSP technical support: 0120-6619540, or email helpdesk@nsp.gov.in.
• Stipend cell, Directorate of Higher and Technical Education, contact number 0360-2215493, email stipendarp@gmail.com.
• Directorate of Higher and Technical Education, ESS Sector, Itanagar; phone 0360-2214416, 0360-2211717 (fax).

Applying for the Arunachal Pradesh State Stipend Scheme is free. No agent is needed and no fee is payable to get your name added to the sanction list.