Merit-cum-Means Scholarships for Under Graduate Studies in Agriculture and Animal Science Subjects

What is the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship?

Merit-cum-Means Scholarship is a student-support scheme of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. According to ICAR, the scheme awards a monthly scholarship to needy but meritorious undergraduate students studying agriculture and animal-science subjects, so that a shortage of money does not force a capable student out of professional education.

The scheme combines two tests. The merit test requires the student to have secured at least 60% marks (or the equivalent grade point average) in the qualifying examination. The means test restricts the benefit to students whose family income is within a ceiling notified by ICAR. Only a student who clears both conditions receives the scholarship, hence the name "merit-cum-means."

Merit-cum-Means Scholarship is a modest, targeted award rather than a large open scholarship. It supports students in undergraduate degree programmes in agriculture, agricultural engineering, veterinary and animal husbandry, dairy technology, fisheries science and home science at ICAR-recognised agricultural universities and colleges.

Main features

• A monthly scholarship, commonly cited as about Rs 1,000 a month in the ICAR guidelines, paid to eligible students.
• Restricted to undergraduate students of agriculture and allied subjects.
• Two qualifying conditions: 60% marks and a family-income ceiling.
• Administered through the student's own agricultural university / college.

Who is eligible for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship?

You can apply if:

• You are enrolled in an undergraduate degree in agriculture or an animal-science subject: agriculture, agricultural engineering, veterinary and animal sciences, dairy, fisheries or home science, at an ICAR-recognised institution.
• You have scored at least 60% marks (or equivalent OGPA) in the qualifying examination.
• Your family income is within the ceiling set for the means test.

You cannot apply if:

• Your marks are below 60%, even if your family income is low.
• Your family income exceeds the ceiling notified by ICAR, even if your marks are high.
• You are a postgraduate or research student — this scheme is only for undergraduate studies; postgraduate students are supported through separate ICAR fellowships.
• Your programme or institution is not covered under the ICAR-recognised list.

Because both a merit and a means condition apply, the scholarship is deliberately narrow. A student who is bright but not needy, or needy but below the marks threshold, is not eligible.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship

The scholarship is administered through your institution, so the application does not go directly to ICAR. Follow these steps:

1. Ask your college / university, the dean of students' welfare or the scholarship section, for the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship application form and the current income ceiling.
2. Fill the form and attach your income certificate, the marksheet showing at least 60% marks, your bonafide/admission certificate and bank passbook.
3. Submit the application within the institution's deadline. The college screens applicants against the merit and means conditions.
4. Selection and disbursement are handled by the institution, which forwards eligible cases and credits the scholarship to your bank account.

Because the exact amount, income ceiling and number of scholarships are revised by ICAR from time to time, confirm the current figures with your university's scholarship section before applying.

Note on figures

ICAR revises the rate and number of Merit-cum-Means scholarships periodically, and different agricultural universities publish slightly different amounts in their prospectuses. The commonly cited figure is about Rs 1,000 per month, but the authoritative current rate is whatever ICAR and your institution notify for the running academic year. Treat the amount above as indicative and verify locally before you rely on it.

Help and information

• Your agricultural university / college. The scholarship or students' welfare section is the first point of contact for forms, eligibility and payment queries.
• ICAR portal: icar.org.in, for the Council's education schemes and current guidelines.

Merit-cum-Means Scholarship is a genuinely niche award that is best understood alongside ICAR's wider student-support schemes for agricultural education rather than as a standalone mass scholarship.

How to check your application status

There is no central online portal where a student can track this scholarship by an application number, since ICAR does not run the scheme through a public applicant-facing tracking system. It works through the institution, so status checks are also institution-led:

1. Ask the scholarship or students' welfare section of your college / university directly. This is the primary and most reliable way to know whether your form was received, whether it cleared the merit and means screening, and whether it has been forwarded onward. Keep the acknowledgement or receipt copy the office gives you at submission, since it is the reference point staff will ask for.
2. Check your bank account for credit. Because the scholarship is disbursed as a monthly amount into the student's bank account, a credit entry is often the first confirmation that your application was approved and processed, especially if the college does not issue a separate approval letter.
3. Follow up each semester or academic term, not just once. Selection lists are usually notified at the institution level (on a notice board or in an internal circular) rather than through SMS or email alerts, so a student who does not check periodically can miss the window to raise a query about a missing or delayed payment.
4. Escalate to the dean of students' welfare if the scholarship section gives no update after a reasonable wait, since this office typically oversees the institution's ICAR scholarship disbursements and can confirm where in the process your case stands.
5. Contact ICAR directly only as a last resort, through icar.org.in, if your institution is unable to explain a long delay. Since ICAR's role is largely to notify guidelines and funds to institutions rather than process individual applications, the institution should normally be able to resolve status queries on its own.

Common reasons for rejection

• Marks below the 60% threshold. Even a single percentage point short of the minimum (or the equivalent OGPA) disqualifies an otherwise needy applicant, since the merit condition is applied strictly. Fix: recheck your marksheet's percentage or grade conversion before applying, and apply again in a later term if a subsequent examination brings you above the threshold.
• Family income above the notified ceiling. Applicants sometimes assume a rough income level qualifies without checking the actual ceiling their university has notified for that year, and are screened out at the means test. Fix: obtain the current income ceiling from your scholarship section before filling the form, and get an income certificate that accurately reflects your family's income from the appropriate issuing authority.
• Income certificate that is outdated or issued by the wrong authority. Colleges typically require a current-year certificate from a specific class of officer, and an old or improperly issued certificate is rejected at the verification stage. Fix: get a fresh income certificate close to the date of application from the authority your institution specifies.
• Applying for the wrong level of study. Because the scheme covers undergraduate courses only, postgraduate or diploma students who submit forms under this scheme are turned down regardless of merit or need. Fix: postgraduate students should check with ICAR or their university for separate fellowship schemes instead of this one.
• Institution or course not recognised for the scheme. Students at colleges or in programmes outside the ICAR-recognised list are not eligible even if they otherwise meet the merit and means conditions. Fix: confirm with your scholarship section, before applying, that your specific course and college are covered under this ICAR scheme.
• Missed institutional deadline. Since the scheme is administered college-by-college rather than through a single national window, each institution sets its own submission date, and a late form is often simply not forwarded for that cycle. Fix: ask the scholarship section for the deadline at the start of the academic year and submit well before it, rather than waiting for a public notice.
• Incomplete or unsigned bonafide/admission certificate. A bonafide certificate missing the required signature, seal, or course details is commonly sent back for correction, delaying or effectively rejecting that cycle's application. Fix: have the certificate checked by the scholarship section before final submission, not only by the department issuing it.