Chief Minister's College Maheiroi E-Support Scheme (CMCMESS)

What is the Chief Minister's e-Support Scheme in Manipur?

Chief Minister's College Maheiroi E-Support Scheme (CMCMESS) is the officially notified Chief Minister's e-Support Scheme for students in Manipur, run by the Department of University and Higher Education, Government of Manipur and implemented by its Directorate. The scheme gives a free smartphone to economically weaker college students so that they can take part in online education.

CMCMESS was launched during the Covid-19 period, alongside the department's rollout of the Moodle Learning Management System across 45 government and government-aided colleges covering more than sixty thousand students. The scheme notice describes the device as the missing link: the state had built the online teaching platform, but students from lower income groups had no device on which to use it.

The acronym in the name is deliberate. The notice expands MAHEIROI as Manipur Higher Education Resource Optimisation and Infrastructure, and "maheiroi" is also the Manipuri word for student.

What the scheme sets out to do

• Equip meritorious college students from lower income groups with the device needed for online education.
• Help students overcome the financial constraint that blocks access to online learning.
• Narrow the digital divide between haves and have-nots in Manipuri society.
• Act as a campaign to boost digital education across the state.

Who is eligible for the Chief Minister's e-Support Scheme?

Target group. College students admitted to various non-professional undergraduate programmes in government and government-aided colleges in Manipur, belonging to lower income groups.

You can apply if:

• You are a permanent resident of the State of Manipur.
• You are enrolled in a government or government-aided college in Manipur.
• You belong to a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family. The notice records that BPL students in all categories; General, ST, SC and OBC, are eligible to apply.
• You are studying in a non-professional undergraduate programme.
• No other student in your family has already become a beneficiary.

You are not eligible if:

• You are a child of a government or contractual employee. The notice excludes this group explicitly.
• You are reading in a Masters programme in the college.
• You are enrolled in a private or unaided institution outside the 45 government and government-aided colleges the scheme covers.
• Another student from your family is already a beneficiary, since only one student per family may benefit.

How many devices are there, and how are they shared out?

The scheme notice sets a total allocation of 2,000 smartphones for the state. Devices are shared out district-wise on a pro-rata basis, according to the number of college students in each district. Figures recorded in the notice include allocations such as 203, 153, 131, 85, 73, 62, 27 and 20 devices across Manipur's districts, with Imphal West and Imphal East carrying the larger shares because that is where student numbers concentrate.

Because supply is capped, selection is competitive rather than automatic. Meeting the eligibility criteria makes you an applicant, not a beneficiary. The screening process decides who gets a device.

What documents does a student need to submit?

The notice lists the following to be submitted to the college concerned:

How to apply for the Chief Minister's e-Support Scheme

1. Wait for your college to announce a CMCMESS round. Applications go through the college, never directly to the Directorate.
2. Collect the application form in the prescribed format from your college office, or fill it online if your college has opened an online route.
3. Assemble your documents, admission details, Aadhaar, college identity card, residential proof or domicile certificate, BPL card or income certificate, category or PwD certificate if applicable, previous year's mark sheets and a passport-size photograph.
4. Submit the completed form with attachments to your college, and keep an acknowledgement.
5. The college constitutes a committee which verifies eligibility and screens every applicant.
6. Mentors are appointed to prioritise students in genuine need of a device.
7. The college uploads the recommended list on its website and forwards it to the Directorate.
8. The Directorate's committee makes the final shortlist.
9. Devices, purchased through open tendering, are distributed through the colleges only. Collect yours from your college when called.

How do I check whether I have been selected?

The scheme's transparency step is the college website. The notice states that the recommended details of students in need of equipment are uploaded on the college website and then forwarded to the Directorate for final shortlisting. Check your college's notice board and website first, then the Directorate of University and Higher Education website at highereducationmanipur.gov.in.

Because the shortlist is compiled at two levels, appearing in your college's recommended list is not the same as final selection. The Directorate committee takes the final decision against the district-wise device allocation.

Can a device be taken back?

Yes, and the notice is explicit about it. The Directorate and the college may cancel a student and recover the device in two situations:

• Misconduct of the student, including cybercrime.
• The candidate being found ineligible at a later date, for example where a BPL claim or a family declaration does not hold up.

Students should also note that the scheme was framed as a special measure for the Covid-19 pandemic situation and, in the words of the notice, may be withdrawn at any time by the government as deemed fit. Distribution rounds therefore depend on budget and on the department opening a fresh call.

What about Class 11 and Class 12 students?

Several non-official scheme aggregator websites describe a "Chief Minister's e-Support Scheme" distributing free phones to Class 11 and Class 12 students from BPL families. That description could not be confirmed on any Government of Manipur source during this fact-check. The scheme documented on the Department of University and Higher Education portal, the notice this guide is built on — covers college undergraduates, and it excludes Masters students and children of government employees.

Students in Class 11 and 12 looking for device or digital-learning support should check with the Department of Education (Schools), Government of Manipur and their own school, rather than apply under CMCMESS, for which they are not eligible.

What else has the department done alongside this scheme?

CMCMESS sits inside a wider digital push by the Department of University and Higher Education. The department launched the Moodle Learning Management System for 45 government and government-aided colleges, with the implementing agency installing Moodle across four virtual private servers and training master trainers who then trained teachers in their own colleges. Colleges began conducting classes and internal assessment for university examinations on Moodle.

The parallel University and Higher Education Digital Support Scheme (UHEDSS) supplies the hardware side: laptops, tablets, projectors, connectivity and interactive classroom equipment; to the colleges and the Directorate. CMCMESS is the student-facing half of that same effort.

The department also runs the College Fagathansi Mission, the College Students Mentoring Initiative (COSMI), the Chief Minister's College Students Rehabilitation Scheme (CMCSRS) and the Chief Minister's Award for Educational Excellence, all listed on its Schemes and Programmes page.

Where to get help

• Directorate of University and Higher Education, Government of Manipur; email edakuhe@gmail.com
• Department website: highereducationmanipur.gov.in
• Your own college office, which is the first and correct point of contact for an application, a screening query or a distribution date

No published dedicated telephone helpline for CMCMESS was traceable on an official Manipur government source at the time of this fact-check, so none is listed here rather than risk publishing a wrong number. Applying is free; no agent or shop can charge you to be put on the list, and devices are handed over only through colleges.

Common reasons for rejection

CMCMESS runs on a fixed statewide allocation of 2,000 smartphones shared out district-wise, so a college committee is choosing a shortlist from a longer list of applicants, not clearing everyone who applies. Most rejections trace back to one of the eligibility conditions or a document gap rather than a random cut.

You are the child of a government or contractual employee. The scheme notice excludes this group by name. If either parent holds a government post, contractual or regular, the college committee is expected to screen the application out at the first stage, even if the family's income is genuinely low. There is no waiver route for this exclusion; it is a category bar, not a means test.

Your family has already received one device. Only one student per family may benefit under CMCMESS. If an older sibling or another family member was selected in an earlier round, a fresh application from the same household is liable to be rejected on that ground alone. Colleges cross-check this against their own recommended lists from prior rounds, so it is worth disclosing rather than risk a later cancellation instead of an upfront rejection.

Your BPL claim does not hold up on verification. The BPL card or income certificate is the core economic-eligibility document. A certificate that has lapsed, one issued to a different head of household than the applicant's own parent or guardian, or one that does not match the residential proof on file, is a common cause of rejection at the college screening stage. Since the notice also allows the Directorate to cancel a student and recover the device if ineligibility surfaces later, getting this document right before submission avoids a much worse outcome than a same-stage rejection.

You are enrolled in the wrong kind of programme or institution. The scheme covers non-professional undergraduate programmes only, at one of the 45 listed government or government-aided colleges. Applications from students in professional courses, from Masters students, or from private and unaided colleges outside that list fall outside the scheme's scope and are not eligible regardless of income.

Your application is incomplete or submitted after your college's window closes. Because CMCMESS has no standing statewide deadline, each college announces and closes its own round. An application missing a required document, admission proof, Aadhaar, college identity card, residential proof, BPL card, mark sheets, or the passport photograph, is typically returned or set aside rather than carried forward for the committee to chase up later. Submitting after the college's own cutoff date has the same effect, since the committee compiles and uploads its recommended list on a fixed timeline before forwarding it to the Directorate.

You are not prioritised as being in genuine need. Meeting the basic eligibility conditions makes you an applicant, not an automatic beneficiary. The college appoints mentors specifically to rank students by genuine need for a device, and the district's device allocation is capped, so an eligible applicant can still be left off the recommended list if the committee assesses other applicants as more in need within that district's quota.

If your name does not appear on your college's recommended list, the first step is to ask the college committee directly what the specific reason was, since the same committee that screens applications is also the one that can correct a documentation error and resubmit you for the next round.