Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students, Mizoram

What is the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste students in Mizoram?

Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students is a centrally assisted scholarship implemented through state governments and union territory administrations, and in Mizoram it is administered by the Social Welfare & Tribal Affairs Department. The scheme's own objectives, as published by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, are to support parents of children from Scheduled Caste and other disadvantaged categories at the pre-matric stage so that participation improves, to minimise drop-out especially at the transition from primary to the next level and from elementary to the secondary stage, and to give students a better chance of progressing to the post-matric stage.

The scheme is available for studies in India only, and the award is made by the government of the state or union territory to which the applicant belongs, that is, where the student is domiciled. A Scheduled Caste student domiciled in Mizoram therefore receives the award from the Government of Mizoram, not from the state where the school happens to be.

The scheme has two components:

• Component 1, Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste students in Classes IX and X.
• Component 2; Pre-Matric Scholarship for children of parents or guardians engaged in unclean and hazardous occupations, in Classes I to X, irrespective of caste or religion.

Who is eligible for the pre-matric scholarship?

Under Component 1, you can apply if:

• You are studying in Class IX or Class X on a full-time basis.
• You belong to a Scheduled Caste.
• Your parents' or guardians' income does not exceed Rs 2.50 lakh per annum from all sources.
• You are domiciled in Mizoram for the Mizoram award.

Under Component 2, you can apply if:

• You are studying in Classes I to X on a full-time basis.
• Your parent or guardian falls into one of four categories, irrespective of caste or religion, a person who is a manual scavenger as defined under section 2(1)(g) of the Manual Scavengers Act 2013; a tanner or flayer; a waste picker; or a person engaged in hazardous cleaning as defined in section 2(1)(d) of the same Act.
• You can produce a certificate from the District Social Welfare Officer, an identified officer of the local body or civic agency, or any such authority designated by the state government.

You are not eligible, and cannot apply, if:

• You are studying beyond Class X. Post-matriculation study is covered by the separate Post-Matric Scholarship for SC students, not by this scheme.
• You are a part-time or correspondence student. Both components require full-time study.
• You are not from a Scheduled Caste, for Component 1. Mizoram is overwhelmingly a Scheduled Tribe state, and ST students are covered by scholarship schemes of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, not by this one.
• Your family income exceeds Rs 2.50 lakh a year, for Component 1. There is no relaxation of the ceiling.
• You are studying outside India. The scheme is for studies in India only.

Note that the income ceiling applies only to Component 1. Component 2 has no family income ceiling.

How much does the pre-matric scholarship pay?

With effect from 2022-23, students are given a consolidated academic allowance rather than a set of separate reimbursements:

The consolidated structure matters practically: a family should not expect a separate tuition reimbursement, book grant or maintenance allowance on top of the academic allowance, because the single amount replaced all of those.

Payment is made by direct benefit transfer into the student's own bank account, which is why an Aadhaar-seeded account in the student's name is part of the document list rather than an optional extra.

How to apply for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC students

1. Check the portal window for your academic year. The National Scholarship Portal opened for 2026-27 on 1 June 2026, student applications close on 31 October 2026, institute verification runs to 15 November 2026 and second-level verification to 30 November 2026. Dates are re-announced on scholarships.gov.in each cycle, so confirm them before you start.
2. Register on the National Scholarship Portal at scholarships.gov.in. The initial registration of the application is done there, using your Aadhaar details and your school's information.
3. Wait for the state to receive your details. The details of a registered candidate are shared with the states, which then allow the applicant to fill the application on the state portal. This two-step design is specific to this scheme, and it is the step applicants most often miss.
4. Fill the full application on the state portal with your class, category, day scholar or hosteller status, family income and bank details.
5. Upload the documents: caste certificate, income certificate, bonafide certificate from the institution, Aadhaar, bank passbook and residence proof. Component 2 applicants upload the occupation certificate from the District Social Welfare Officer or the designated authority instead of the caste certificate.
6. Get the application verified by your institution. The school verifies enrolment and forwards the application to the district and state level.
7. Track the application on the National Scholarship Portal using your application ID, and check that the DBT credit reaches the student's account.
8. Renew each year. A Class IX awardee has to apply again in Class X; the scholarship is not automatically carried forward.

What documents do I need?

Why pre-matric scholarship applications fail

• The applicant stops after the NSP registration and never fills the second application on the state portal. Registration alone does not produce a scholarship.
• The income certificate crosses Rs 2.50 lakh or is issued by an authority the state does not accept.
• The caste certificate does not match the name and parentage on the Aadhaar and school records.
• The bank account is not in the student's name or is not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit bounces.
• The institution does not verify the application before the portal's institute-verification deadline, which silently kills an otherwise complete application.
• A Component 2 applicant files a caste certificate instead of the occupation certificate. Component 2 does not run on caste at all.
• The student is in Class VIII or below under Component 1, which starts only at Class IX.

Where do I get help?

• National Scholarship Portal: https://scholarships.gov.in/, for registration, application status and the annual calendar.
• Department of Social Justice and Empowerment scheme page for the Pre-Matric Scholarship, which publishes the current guidelines.
• Directorate of Social Welfare & Tribal Affairs, Mizoram, Chaltlang, Aizawl, telephone 0389-2390923, email swtamizoram@gmail.com.
• District Social Welfare Officers in Mizoram, whose published numbers are Siaha 9538412398 or 9612553720, Lunglei 9862303171, Champhai 9862790154, Mamit 9436360326, and Aizawl East and West 9774394454. The DSWO is also the certifying authority named in the scheme for Component 2.
• Your school, which must verify the application before it can move up the chain.

Applying is free. No fee is charged by the National Scholarship Portal, by the school or by the District Social Welfare Office, and no agent can charge for adding a student's name to the scholarship list.