Freeship Less than Rs 1,00,000/- (UG Students Only)

What is the Freeship Less than Rs 1,00,000/- (UG Students Only)?

The Freeship Less than Rs 1,00,000/- (UG Students Only) is a tuition-fee concession scheme of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar, in Uttarakhand. It is listed under the Department of Agriculture, Government of Uttarakhand, and administered by the university's Dean, Student Welfare office. The scheme's aim is to ease the tuition-fee burden on undergraduate students so that cost is less of a barrier to completing a degree.

According to the myScheme listing for the scheme, the freeship applies to students enrolled in either a 3-year undergraduate programme or a 4-year veterinary undergraduate programme at the university. The benefit is a tuition fee concession, a waiver or reduction of the prescribed tuition fee: rather than a cash stipend. The transliterated term "freeship" is commonly used in Indian universities for exactly this kind of fee waiver, so students searching for "freeship" will find this GBPUAT concession.

GBPUAT, set up in 1960 at Pantnagar in Udham Singh Nagar district, is Uttarakhand's principal agricultural university and India's first agricultural university. This is an internal university welfare measure, so it runs through the university's academic administration rather than a citizen-facing state portal.

What does "Less than Rs 1,00,000" mean?

The figure in the scheme's name refers to annual family income, not the fee amount. According to the GBPUAT Dean, Student Welfare information, the university awards a freeship in tuition fee on a merit-cum-means basis to a defined share of its undergraduates, reported as 25% of undergraduate students together with all day scholars, and the means side of that test looks at students whose family income is below Rs 1,00,000 per year. In other words, this particular freeship is the low-income slab of the university's tuition-fee concession: a student from a family earning under Rs 1,00,000 a year, who also meets the merit threshold, can have the prescribed tuition fee waived. The concession is a full tuition-fee exemption for eligible students rather than a part reduction, and the university has extended the benefit to girl students for an additional academic year in its welfare rules.

Who is eligible for the freeship?

You can be considered if:

• You are a currently enrolled undergraduate student at GBPUAT Pantnagar.
• You are studying in a 3-year undergraduate programme or the 4-year veterinary undergraduate programme.
• You meet the university's prescribed conditions for the freeship for that academic year.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You are a postgraduate (Master's) or PhD student — the scheme is for UG students only.
• You are enrolled at another college or university.
• You are not an active, registered student when the selection is made.

The scheme name references "Less than Rs 1,00,000/-", which points to the annual family income ceiling used for the means test rather than a fee band. The exact income cut-off, the merit conditions and the number of freeships available in a session are set by the university's guidelines each year, so confirm the current criteria with the Dean, Student Welfare office before applying.

Students who are not selected for this income-based freeship are not left without options. GBPUAT separately awards a University Merit Scholarship of Rs 800 per month, a Bursary Scholarship of Rs 600 per month, and a Sports Scholarship of Rs 800 per month for its best all-round sportspersons, and it administers a wide set of external and government scholarships including ICAR merit-cum-means support and SC/ST scholarships. The university reports that financial assistance in some form reaches roughly 60 to 70% of its students, so a student who misses this freeship should ask the Dean, Student Welfare office which other award they qualify for.

What documents are required?

The public listing notes that documents are required "in accordance with the university guidelines prescribed for this scheme," so the precise set can vary year to year.

How to apply for the freeship

1. Confirm your eligibility; verify you are a registered UG student in a 3-year programme or the 4-year veterinary programme at GBPUAT Pantnagar.
2. Collect the prescribed freeship form from the Dean, Student Welfare office when applications are invited for the academic year.
3. Complete the form with your enrolment details, programme, year and fee particulars.
4. Attach the required documents, including proof of enrolment and fee records.
5. Submit the form to the Dean, Student Welfare office by the notified date.
6. Selection list is prepared by the Dean, Student Welfare as per the established procedure.
7. Approval is given by the Registrar and the Vice-Chancellor.
8. Office order naming the selected students is issued by the Dean, after which the tuition-fee concession is applied.

How does approval work?

Selection for the freeship runs entirely through the university's internal process. The Dean, Student Welfare compiles the selection list according to the prescribed procedure, the Registrar and Vice-Chancellor approve it, and the Dean issues an office order announcing the selected students. The tuition-fee concession is then reflected against the student's fee account. There is no separate online application or scoring portal for this internal welfare measure.

How to check your status

Because this is an internal university scheme, there is no public online status tracker. To check whether you have been granted the freeship, watch for the office order issued by the Dean, Student Welfare and follow up directly with that office. Keep your submitted form and any acknowledgement handy when you enquire.

Common reasons a freeship is not granted

• Ineligible programme or level, PG/PhD students, or students outside the covered UG programmes, are not eligible.
• Incomplete form or missing fee records, leading to rejection at screening.
• Late submission after the notified date.
• Limited number of freeships available in a given year, so not every eligible applicant may be accommodated.

If your application was set aside for a documentation gap, correct it and apply again in the next cycle while you remain an eligible UG student.

A common practical mistake is treating the "Rs 1,00,000" in the name as a fee amount and assuming a high-fee course disqualifies you, it does not. The figure is the family income ceiling, so a student in any covered UG programme whose household earns under Rs 1,00,000 a year, and who meets the merit condition, is within scope. Bring a current, correctly issued income certificate from the competent revenue authority, because a missing or outdated income proof is the single most common reason an otherwise eligible means-based freeship is held up.

Where to get help

For the current year's eligibility band, form, deadline and the number of freeships, contact the Dean, Student Welfare office at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. Scholarship and freeship notices are published in the Student Corner and academics sections of the university website, gbpuat.ac.in. As with all internal university awards, the exact terms are set by the university and are best confirmed there each academic year.