Financial Support Scheme (FSS), University of Delhi

What is the Financial Support Scheme (FSS)?

The Financial Support Scheme (FSS) is a fee-waiver scheme run by the University of Delhi through its Dean of Students' Welfare (DSW). It helps economically weaker students meet the cost of tuition by refunding or waiving part or all of the fee, so that a lack of money does not force a bonafide student to drop out. As a University of Delhi initiative under a central university, it sits within the Ministry of Education ecosystem, but it is administered by the University itself.

According to the scheme details on the myScheme portal, the waiver is banded by family income:

• Family income up to Rs 4,00,000 a year: up to a 100% waiver of tuition fees, capped at Rs 15,000.
• Family income between Rs 4,00,000 and Rs 8,00,000: up to a 50% waiver, capped at Rs 10,000.

The waiver covers the tuition-fee component only. Examination fees and university fees are specifically excluded. The benefit is delivered as a fee waiver or refund for students enrolled directly with University of Delhi departments, institutes and centres.

Key features

• Two income slabs, with waivers of up to 100% (max Rs 15,000) or up to 50% (max Rs 10,000).
• Covers tuition fees only, not examination or university fees.
• Open to full-time UG and PG students, including first-year students.
• Administered online by the Dean of Students' Welfare, University of Delhi.

Who is eligible for the Financial Support Scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a full-time bonafide UG or PG student at a University of Delhi department, institute or centre.
• Your annual family income is below Rs 8,00,000.
• You pay your fees directly to the University of Delhi (not separately to a constituent college, School of Open Learning or NCWEB).
• You are otherwise in good academic standing, including first-year students.

You cannot apply if:

• You are enrolled in a B.Tech or an integrated Law programme — these are excluded.
• You have Essential Repeat papers or arrears.
• Your family income is Rs 8,00,000 or more a year.
• You pay fees to a constituent college, SOL or NCWEB separately rather than to the University directly.

The income bands are the decisive factor: the slab you fall into determines both the percentage of the waiver and the rupee cap that applies to you.

What documents are required for the FSS?

How to apply for the Financial Support Scheme

1. Open the Dean of Students' Welfare FSS portal for the University of Delhi and register or log in.
2. Fill the online application form with your course, department and family income details, selecting the income slab that applies to you.
3. Attach the required documents, income proof and ITRs, PAN cards, bonafide certificate, fee receipt, marksheet, the undertaking form and, where relevant, your EWS/OBC certificate.
4. Print the completed application and obtain a recommendation from your head of department.
5. Submit the printed application with documents to the DSW as per the notified submission schedule.
6. Track the outcome and provide bank account details so the waived or refunded amount can be credited.

How much benefit does the FSS provide?

The benefit is a tuition-fee waiver or refund of up to Rs 15,000 for students in the lower income band (up to 100% of tuition, family income up to Rs 4,00,000) and up to Rs 10,000 for the higher band (up to 50% of tuition, family income Rs 4,00,000–Rs 8,00,000). Only the tuition component is covered; examination and university fees remain payable.

Help and contact

• FSS portal: https://fss.oldcdu.ac.in/
• Email: fss@dsw.du.ac.in
• Administering office: Dean of Students' Welfare, University of Delhi

Applicants should confirm the current year's income limits, caps and submission schedule with the Dean of Students' Welfare before applying, as University of Delhi may revise the figures from year to year.

How to check your application status

The FSS does not have a public applicant-facing tracking dashboard the way some central government portals do, so status checks work through direct follow-up rather than a self-serve tracker.

1. Check your DSW portal login first. If you applied through the Dean of Students' Welfare FSS portal at https://fss.oldcdu.ac.in/, log back in with the same credentials. Some cycles show a basic status flag (submitted, under verification, forwarded for approval) against your application; if yours does not, move to the next step.
2. Confirm your printed submission was received. Since the process requires printing the online form and submitting it physically with your head of department's recommendation, your application is only "in the system" for verification purposes once the DSW office has received that physical copy. Keep the acknowledgement or receiving stamp from submission as your proof of filing.
3. Email the DSW for a status update. Write to fss@dsw.du.ac.in with your name, course, department, and the date you submitted your physical application. Ask specifically whether your file has cleared income verification and whether it has been forwarded for fee waiver processing.
4. Follow up through your department. Because the application route runs through your head of department for the recommendation, your department office can often tell you whether your file has moved past that stage, which is faster than waiting on a central email reply during peak submission periods.
5. Watch your bank account and fee ledger. Since the benefit is delivered as a waiver or refund credited to the bank account you provided, a credit entry or a corrected fee ledger showing the reduced amount is the final confirmation that your application was approved and processed.
6. Re-verify before the next fee cycle if you have heard nothing. FSS runs on an annual cycle tied to the University's fee payment schedule, so an application that is still pending as the next semester's fee deadline approaches needs an in-person or written follow-up with DSW rather than waiting further.

Common reasons for rejection

• Fees paid to the wrong office. Applications are rejected when the student pays fees to a constituent college, the School of Open Learning (SOL) or NCWEB instead of directly to a University of Delhi department, institute or centre. Fix: confirm before applying that your fee receipt shows payment made directly to the University of Delhi, not to an affiliated college or distance-learning division; if it does not, you are not eligible for this particular route.
• Enrolment in an excluded programme. B.Tech and integrated Law students are declared ineligible for FSS regardless of income. Fix: check your programme against the exclusion list before spending time on the application; there is no waiver or exception process for these programmes under FSS.
• Essential Repeat papers or arrears. A student carrying Essential Repeat papers or academic arrears is disqualified even if income criteria are met. Fix: clear pending arrears or repeat papers before the next application cycle, or wait until your academic record is clean, since this is a hard eligibility bar, not a documentation gap.
• Family income above Rs 8,00,000, or income proof that does not support the claimed slab. Applications are rejected outright if the declared or verified family income is at or above the Rs 8,00,000 ceiling, and applications are also commonly held up or rejected when the submitted ITRs and PAN cards do not clearly establish the total family income claimed on the form. Fix: gather ITRs and PAN cards for all earning family members before applying, add up the true annual family income, and select the slab (up to Rs 4,00,000 or Rs 4,00,000 to Rs 8,00,000) that the documents actually support rather than the one that gives the larger waiver.
• Missing head-of-department recommendation. Since the printed application must carry a recommendation from the head of department before submission to DSW, a form submitted without this signature is typically sent back or not processed. Fix: get the recommendation signed before submitting to DSW, not after, so the submission is complete on the first attempt.
• Incomplete or mismatched documentation. A missing bonafide certificate, fee receipt, marksheet, undertaking form or bank account detail is a common reason applications stall or are returned, since DSW cannot process a waiver or refund without every listed document in place. Fix: use the documents checklist on this page to confirm every mandatory item is attached before printing and submitting, and make sure the name and details on each document match your admission record exactly.
• Missed submission schedule. FSS follows a notified annual submission window; forms submitted after that window closes are generally not accepted for that fee cycle. Fix: confirm the current year's submission schedule with DSW at the start of the academic year and submit well before the deadline rather than close to it.