Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina Aasoni (Nijut Moina Scheme)

What is the Nijut Moina scheme?

Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina Aasoni, usually shortened to Nijut Moina and abbreviated MMNM, is a financial assistance scheme of the Higher Education Department, Government of Assam. Nijut Moina provides an admission incentive to girl students so that they continue studying after matriculation instead of dropping out.

The scheme comes from the Assam Budget Speech for 2024-25. The Higher Education Department's Office Memorandum records the Finance Minister's announcement in paragraph 31(I) that "10 lakh girls (one million, Nijut Moina) will be supported with a financial grant as admission incentive to continue their education to higher secondary, graduation and post-graduation studies". The name itself is Assamese: nijut means a million and moina is an affectionate word for a girl.

The four stated objectives of Nijut Moina, taken directly from the guideline, are to increase enrolment of girl students in higher education, to increase the percentage of girls educated beyond matriculation in Assam, to reduce dropouts among girl students, and to eliminate the social evil of child marriage. The department also links the scheme to raising Assam's overall Gross Enrolment Ratio.

How much money does Nijut Moina give?

The Higher Education Department fixes three rates by level of study. Each is paid monthly by DBT directly into the student's own bank account, for a maximum of 10 months in a year.

Three payment rules matter in practice:

• No incentive is paid during summer vacation or any vacation extending for more than one month.
• The scheme is not effective during June and July every year. That is what reduces a 12-month year to a maximum of 10 payable months.
• No arrear amount is provided. The 2025-26 executive order states that the incentive is given only to regular eligible female students and that arrears will not be paid, so a late application does not recover missed months.

For the 2024-25 session the benefit was availed for 9 months; for the 2025-26 session the executive order sets it at 10 months.

Who is eligible for Nijut Moina, and who is not eligible?

Girl students who can be covered

• Girl students domiciled in Assam, irrespective of their economic status. Nijut Moina is deliberately not an income-tested scheme: there is no BPL or income ceiling.
• Students enrolled in government and venture educational institutions that appear in Annexure-A (venture colleges) and Annexure-B (venture senior secondary schools) of the guideline, in Higher Secondary, Graduation or Post-Graduation.
• Only regular female students. The incentive is not extended to irregular or private candidates.
• For the 2025-26 session, students admitted to the first year of self-financed courses in government educational institutions were also brought in, on the same conditions.

Who cannot apply or is not eligible

• Students enrolled in private educational institutions are excluded outright by the scope clause of the guideline.
• Married girls are not eligible, except those in the P.G. and B.Ed. categories.
• In-service girls admitted to a B.Ed. course on deputation are not eligible.
• Daughters of Ministers, MPs and MLAs are not eligible.
• Girl students who receive a scooter as part of the Banikanta Kakati Award under the Pragyan Bharati Scheme are not eligible; a girl who opts out of the scooter may apply for Nijut Moina instead.
• Dropouts are not allowed to avail the benefit, and heads of institutions must inform the authorities when a student leaves.

What conditions must a Nijut Moina student keep?

Nijut Moina is a conduct-linked benefit, not an unconditional transfer. The guideline requires beneficiaries to maintain discipline and adhere to all rules and regulations of their institute, including attending classes regularly, respecting school property, following the instructions of teachers and staff, and behaving respectfully towards peers and other personnel. Any violation: "disruptive behaviour, cheating, ragging, vandalism, or any form of misconduct" — results in the benefit being withdrawn.

For students continuing from an earlier year, the head of the institution must confirm that the student has kept 75% attendance in the previous year.

What documents are required for Nijut Moina?

How to apply for the Nijut Moina scheme

Nijut Moina has an unusual application route: the student never uploads anything herself. The institution is the applicant-facing body and the department verifies the data on its own portal.

1. Ask your institution's Nijut Moina nodal teacher for the form. The guideline requires every head of institution to notify one or two nodal teachers to implement MMNM in that institution.
2. Fill up the prescribed application form completely and correctly. The guideline places the responsibility on the student to ensure that the data given is correct and complete, because errors block auto-verification later.
3. Attach your bank passbook copy, Aadhaar and domicile proof and submit the whole set to the institution where you are currently enrolled: not to a government office, a CSC or a website.
4. Let the Registrar or Principal upload the data. Registrars and Principals collect and verify the application forms through their respective portals and submit the correct data for auto-verification on the department portal.
5. From the second year onwards, do nothing further. No fresh application is required. A certificate from the head of the institution certifying your continuity, together with the 75% attendance confirmation, is enough.

Guardians may choose whether their daughters apply at all. The guideline explicitly notes that some guardians may not wish to apply, so participation is voluntary.

How is Nijut Moina money paid and how do you check it?

Nijut Moina is paid by monthly DBT through a bank account to each eligible girl student. There is no cheque, no cash and no payment to the institution.

1. Confirm with your nodal teacher that your form was uploaded and that auto-verification on the department portal has cleared.
2. Check your own bank passbook or bank SMS each month during the academic session, remembering that June and July carry no payment.
3. If the credit does not arrive, verify at your bank branch that the account is active and Aadhaar-seeded and that the name matches your Aadhaar exactly.
4. If the bank side is clean, go back to the head of the institution, who holds the portal login and can see whether your record failed verification.

Why do Nijut Moina applications get rejected?

• Enrolment in a private institution, which the guideline excludes.
• The institution is not listed in Annexure-A or Annexure-B, so the student cannot be uploaded at all.
• Marital status. A married girl in Class 11, Class 12 or graduation is not eligible.
• Incorrect or incomplete data in the form, which fails auto-verification on the portal.
• Bank account not in the student's own name or not Aadhaar-seeded.
• Attendance below 75% in the previous year for a continuing beneficiary.
• Already holding a Banikanta Kakati Award scooter under Pragyan Bharati.

Where do you get help with Nijut Moina?

• Your institution's Nijut Moina nodal teacher is the designated first point of contact and can see your record on the institution portal.
• The head of your institution (Principal or Registrar) is responsible for the upload, verification and continuity certification.
• The Higher Education Department, Block-C, Ground Floor, Janata Bhawan, Dispur, Guwahati-6, can be reached at higheredn.assam@assam.gov.in, the email printed on its own executive orders.
• The Directorate of Higher Education, Assam, Kahilipara, Guwahati-781019, lists directorhigherassam123@gmail.com as its contact address on its official contact page.

Nijut Moina carries no application fee at any stage. No agent, coaching centre or middleman can get a name added to the beneficiary list; only your own institution can upload your application.