Post-Matric Scholarship for ST Students (Manipur)

What is the Post-Matric Scholarship for ST Students in Manipur?

Post-Matric Scholarship for ST Students is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented in Manipur by the Department of Tribal Affairs and Hills, Government of Manipur, under guidelines issued by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The department describes the scheme on its own website as "providing Financial Assistance to ST students for pursuing higher studies after passing class X", with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs meeting 90 per cent of the cost and the state meeting 10 per cent.

Post-Matric Scholarship for ST Students is the larger and more valuable of the two tribal scholarships Manipur runs. Unlike the Pre-Matric scheme, which pays a small fixed stipend, this scheme has two components: reimbursement of the compulsory non-refundable fees charged by the institution, and a monthly stipend whose rate depends on which of four course groups the student's programme falls into.

The scheme is old, it dates back to 1944-45 nationally, but the operating guidelines Manipur publishes are the current ones applicable from 2021-22, with the fee provisions applying prospectively to students taking fresh admission from 1 April 2022.

Who is eligible for the Manipur Post-Matric ST Scholarship?

You can get this scholarship if:

• You belong to a Scheduled Tribe notified in relation to Manipur and hold a Manipur domicile.
• You have passed matriculation, higher secondary or any higher examination of a recognised university or board.
• Your family income from all sources is not more than Rs 2.5 lakh a year.
• You hold a valid account in a scheduled bank, linked with Aadhaar and a mobile number.
• You are studying in a recognised institution, a government college, an institution of national importance, a central, state or deemed university, a UGC-recognised autonomous college, a private university with 'A' level NAAC or NBA accreditation, a private professional institution affiliated to a recognised university, a government or government-aided school for Classes XI and XII, a state-recognised diploma institution, or an NCVT-affiliated vocational training institute.

You are not eligible if:

• You are already drawing another scholarship or stipend. Only one may be held at a time; if you are awarded a second, you must choose one and inform the awarding authority through the Head of your institution.
• You are studying in one of the 252 Top Class Institutes covered by the Ministry's separate "National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students". Those students are funded under that scheme instead, to avoid duplication.
• You have already completed a course in one stream and now want a diploma or degree in a different stream, the guidelines cite B.Com after B.A. or B.Sc., and MBBS after B.Tech, as examples that are not funded.
• Your family income exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh a year.
• Your institution is not on the approved or empanelled list.

Income counting follows the same rules as the Pre-Matric scheme. Both parents' incomes are added where both work; other earning family members are excluded; where one parent is alive only that parent's income counts; and an orphan supported by a guardian is exempt from the income test entirely. The income certificate is taken once at admission and does not have to be refreshed in the second or later years of the same course.

How much does the Manipur Post-Matric ST Scholarship pay?

Component 1 — fees. The scheme pays the compulsory, non-refundable fees for the course. Amounts are fixed by the State Level Fee Fixation Committee. For students in private-sector institutes, central support is capped at Rs 2.5 lakh a year for engineering, Rs 6 lakh a year for MBBS, MS and MD, and Rs 1 lakh a year for other courses. A state is free to top up beyond these caps from its own funds.

Component 2 to monthly stipend, by course group:

Additional disability stipend. A Divyangjan student receives Rs 800 a month (Rs 9,600 a year) as a hosteller and Rs 600 a month (Rs 7,200 a year) as a day scholar, over and above the group rate. This extends to leprosy-cured students and students with sickle cell anaemia or thalassemia.

Other allowances under the national scheme document include study tour charges up to Rs 1,600 a year, thesis typing and printing charges up to Rs 1,600 for research scholars, and an annual book allowance of Rs 1,200.

The stipend is an incentive to pursue the course. The guidelines are explicit that it is "in no way meant to provide for reimbursement of boarding and lodging charges like mess, hostel or other similar charges".

What counts as a hosteller. Normally a hosteller lives in a common residential building with a common mess run under the institution's supervision. Where the college cannot provide hostel accommodation, the Head of the Institution may approve a place of residence as a deemed hostel after inspection, provided it is hired by a group of at least five students living together, usually with common mess arrangements, and certifies this.

What documents are required for the Post-Matric ST Scholarship?

Manipur may link the portal through DigiLocker so certificates already stored there can be fetched automatically, a provision the guidelines encourage.

How to apply for the Manipur Post-Matric ST Scholarship

1. Obtain your ST certificate, Manipur domicile certificate and family income certificate from the competent authorities. A self-assessed affidavit of income will not be accepted.
2. Confirm that your college or institute is in an eligible category, government, national importance, UGC-recognised, NAAC/NBA 'A' accredited private university, or affiliated to a recognised body such as AICTE or MCI.
3. Open or verify a scheduled bank account in your name that is active, Aadhaar-seeded and linked to a mobile number you will retain for the whole course.
4. Register on the National Scholarship Portal at www.nsp.gov.in and select the Post Matric Scholarship for ST Students under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, with Manipur as your domicile state.
5. Fill the form, entering the course, course duration, group, hosteller or day scholar status, and the fee charged by the institution.
6. Upload all scanned documents and submit before Manipur's published closing date.
7. Get your college's Institute Nodal Officer to verify the application at level one; the District and State Nodal Officers verify at levels two and three.
8. Track the application and fix any defect flagged in the remarks. A rejected application is not processed further in that session.
9. Renew the scholarship for each subsequent year of the same course.

There is no offline application route for this scheme in Manipur. What happens offline is certificate issue in your district and the physical verification of documents your institution's Nodal Officer is required to retain.

What are the key dates for the Post-Matric ST Scholarship?

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs asks states to make all efforts to open the portal for Post-Matric applications by 1 May each year, and holds the state responsible for advertising the opening and closing dates through print, social and electronic media, including to empanelled institutions located outside Manipur. The suggested cycle runs registration through the summer, institute and state verification over the following two months, and disbursement by the end of the following month.

Because these timelines are suggestive rather than binding, check dtahills.mn.gov.in and the NSP homepage for Manipur's operative dates in any given session. The department also publishes Post-Matric ST Scholarship beneficiary lists for 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24, which are the simplest way to confirm a past sanction.

How do I check my Post-Matric ST Scholarship status?

1. Log in at nsp.gov.in using your application ID.
2. Read the dashboard status, pending at institute, pending at district, pending at state, defective, verified or rejected.
3. If defective, open the nodal officer's remarks, correct exactly that item, and resubmit inside the window.
4. Check the beneficiary list PDF on dtahills.mn.gov.in for the relevant academic year once disbursement is done.

Payment reaches the student's own account by DBT through PFMS. If the status shows verified but no money has arrived, the fault is almost always in the bank account details rather than in the sanction.

Why do Post-Matric ST Scholarship applications fail?

• Institute not empanelled or not in an eligible category. Students in unrecognised private institutes are the largest group of rejections.
• Second course in a different stream, which the guidelines exclude.
• Already holding another scholarship, including a Top Class Institute award.
• Income certificate issued by the wrong authority, or self-declared.
• Dormant or wrongly typed bank account, so the DBT fails.
• Institute Nodal Officer did not verify in time, leaving the application stuck at level one when the window closed.
• Illegible uploads of certificates and marksheets.

Where do I raise a Post-Matric ST Scholarship grievance?

Every state must run a dedicated helpdesk for scholarship queries. In Manipur, escalate in this order:

• Institute Nodal Officer at your college, for verification delays and defect remarks.
• District and State Nodal Officers for the scheme, who handle second and third level verification and monitor pendency at institute level.
• Directorate of Tribal Affairs and Hills, Manipur, near Manipur Secretariat, Imphal 795001, email tah-director-mn@manipur.gov.in. The department also runs a Public Grievances link on its website.
• NSP helpdesk for portal and OTP faults.

Applying for the Post-Matric ST Scholarship is free at every stage. No agent can obtain a sanction, and no one should be paid to "get your name added" to the beneficiary list.