APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship

What is the APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship?

APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship is a scholarship of the Directorate of Minority Welfare, Government of Kerala, named after the former President and aerospace scientist Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. It is aimed at a very specific group: students from Kerala's notified minority communities who are studying three-year diploma courses in polytechnics.

The Directorate of Minority Welfare was formed under the General Administration Department in 2008 and operates from the 4th floor of Vikas Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. Its published mandate is the overall welfare and advancement of the notified minority communities of Kerala: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, and scholarships are the largest part of what the directorate does.

The scholarship pays Rs 6,000 per annum, and it runs for the three years of the diploma subject to satisfactory academic performance. The design logic is straightforward. Polytechnic diploma students in Kerala are typically from lower income households than degree entrants, the diploma is a direct route into employment, and the drop-out risk in years two and three is financial rather than academic. A modest annual amount that follows the student through the course addresses that better than a one-time award would.

Key features

• Rs 6,000 per year, for up to three years of a diploma course.
• Restricted to the six notified minority communities in Kerala.
• Family annual income ceiling of Rs 8,00,000.
• 30 percent of the scholarships are reserved for female students.
• Preference to Below Poverty Line applicants within the eligible pool.
• Covers government, aided and approved self-financing polytechnics, on merit seats.

Who is eligible for the APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Kerala and can produce a nativity or domicile certificate.
• You belong to one of the notified minority communities; Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain or Parsi.
• You are enrolled in a three-year diploma course in a government, aided or government-approved polytechnic in Kerala.
• Your family annual income is below Rs 8,00,000, evidenced by an income certificate from the village officer.
• You hold a merit seat at the polytechnic.
• You have a bank account in your own name, seeded with Aadhaar, for the direct credit.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not belong to a notified minority community. Students of other communities should look at the e-Grantz post-matric scholarships run by the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Backward Classes development departments instead.
• Your family income exceeds Rs 8,00,000 a year.
• You are studying a degree or postgraduate programme. The APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship in Kerala is confined to polytechnic diploma courses; degree students apply under the Minority Welfare Post-Matric Scholarship or the Prof. Joseph Mundassery Scholarship Award.
• You are not a resident of Kerala, or you are studying in a polytechnic outside the state's approved list.
• You are already drawing another scholarship the department treats as non-combinable. Declare every other award on the form, a concealed second scholarship is a standard ground for recovery.

How much does the scholarship pay, and for how long?

The APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship pays Rs 6,000 per annum. Because a polytechnic diploma in Kerala runs for three years, a student selected in the first year and maintaining satisfactory academic performance can draw the award across all three years, which comes to Rs 18,000 in total.

Two points about the payment matter in practice:

1. The money goes to the student, not the college. Payment is made by direct transfer to the student's own bank account, which is why an Aadhaar-seeded account in the student's name is on the document list. An account in a parent's name will not be paid.
2. Renewal is conditional, not automatic. Continuation across the three years depends on academic performance, and the department calls for renewal details in each cycle. A student who does not respond to the renewal call, or who fails a year, can lose the second or third instalment.

How to apply for the APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship

The scholarship is applied for online, then confirmed on paper through the polytechnic. Both halves are compulsory — an online application that is never submitted in hard copy to the institution is not processed.

1. Collect the certificates first. Nativity or domicile certificate, community certificate, income certificate showing family income below Rs 8,00,000, BPL certificate or ration card if you have one, previous qualifying mark list, and a bonafide certificate from the polytechnic. Village office certificates take time, so start here.
2. Register on the Minority Welfare scholarship portal. Go to mwdscholarship.kerala.gov.in and create your account with a working mobile number and email address.
3. Open the scholarship and fill the application. Select the APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship from the scholarship list and complete the personal, educational, community, income and bank sections. Enter the account number and IFSC exactly as printed in the passbook.
4. Upload the documents. Photograph, signature and scanned certificates in the formats and sizes the form specifies. Illegible scans are a routine cause of rejection.
5. Submit online and take a printout. The portal generates a printable application after final submission. Nothing is final until you submit.
6. Hand the printed application to the head of your polytechnic. Attach self-attested copies of all the supporting documents. The institution verifies the details and forwards the list to the Directorate of Minority Welfare before the closing date.

How do I check my APJ Abdul Kalam Scholarship status?

The Kerala Minority Welfare scholarship portal at mwdscholarship.kerala.gov.in carries an application status tracker. Log in with the credentials used at registration and check whether your application shows as submitted, verified by the institution, or sanctioned.

Beyond the portal, two channels are useful:

• Your polytechnic's scholarship section. Institution-level verification is the step where most applications stall, and the college can see and correct its own pending list.
• The Directorate of Minority Welfare helpdesk on 0471-2300524, 0471-2300523 or 0471-2302090, or by email to scholarship.mwd@gmail.com. The directorate is at Vikas Bhavan, 4th Floor, Thiruvananthapuram 695033.

Why do applications get rejected, and how do I fix it?

What are the key dates?

The Directorate of Minority Welfare announces the application window for each academic year. In the 2024-25 cycle the last date was 3 February 2025, which places the window in the second half of the academic year rather than at admission time.

Since the date shifts from year to year and the portal is the authority on it, the practical rule is to keep the certificates ready in advance and to check the notifications section of mwdscholarship.kerala.gov.in from November onwards. An income certificate obtained in June may already have expired by the time the window opens, which catches out a large number of applicants every year.

Where do I complain if the scholarship is not paid?

Escalate in this order:

1. The head of your polytechnic, since the institution forwards and verifies the application and holds the acknowledgement.
2. The Directorate of Minority Welfare helpdesk on 0471-2300524, 0471-2300523 or 0471-2302090, or scholarship.mwd@gmail.com, quoting your application number.
3. The Director of Minority Welfare, Vikas Bhavan, 4th Floor, Thiruvananthapuram 695033, in writing, if the helpdesk does not resolve the matter.
4. The Chief Minister's public grievance portal at cmo.kerala.gov.in, which accepts online petitions against any Kerala government department and issues a tracking number.

What other Kerala minority scholarships should I look at?

The Directorate of Minority Welfare runs a linked set of awards, and a student who misses one often qualifies for another:

• Minority Welfare Post-Matric Scholarship; tuition support plus a monthly maintenance allowance for minority students after Class 10.
• Prof. Joseph Mundassery Scholarship Award; merit-based award for minority students with full A+ at SSLC or Plus Two, 80 percent at UG or 75 percent at PG.
• Civil Service Examination fee reimbursement, support for minority candidates preparing for the civil services.

All of them run from the same directorate, share the same Rs 8 lakh family income ceiling and use the same scholarship portal, so the certificates you assemble for one application will normally serve for the others.