Nagaland State Research Scholarship

What is the Nagaland State Research Scholarship?

Nagaland State Research Scholarship is a research fellowship sponsored 100 percent by the Government of Nagaland and run by the Directorate of Higher Education, Kohima. The scheme supports Scheduled Tribe and indigenous inhabitant scholars from Nagaland who are doing doctoral-level research, a PhD or a D.Litt, at a recognised university anywhere in India.

According to the Directorate's guidelines, applications are made through the state's Common Scholarship Portal, scholarship.nagaland.gov.in, the same window used for the Nagaland State Merit Scholarship and the state's other scholarship programmes coordinated by the Nagaland Scholarship Nodal Cell.

The scholarship is deliberately narrow. It is not a broad research grant for institutions or a project funding line; it is a modest personal stipend for an individual scholar, with a small contingency grant on top to cover the running costs of research.

Who is eligible for the Nagaland State Research Scholarship?

You can apply if:

• You are a Scheduled Tribe or indigenous inhabitant student of Nagaland.
• You are pursuing a PhD or D.Litt course at a recognised university within India. Study abroad is outside the scheme.
• You are in the first year of your research, the guidelines state that entry into the scheme is only in the first year, and a fresh application is applicable only to first-year PhD or D.Litt scholars.

Renewal is open only to beneficiaries of the previous year. A scholar who has already availed the scholarship three times is no longer eligible, which caps the award at three years of support.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a beneficiary of any other scholarship, fellowship or stipend scheme. A UGC JRF or SRF, an ICSSR or CSIR fellowship, or a university stipend all disqualify you.
• You are an employee of any government or semi-government establishment. A serving college lecturer or state officer registered for a PhD is therefore not eligible.
• You are beyond the first year of your research and were not a beneficiary in the previous year; there is no mid-course entry.
• You have already drawn the scholarship three times.

There is no income ceiling and no marks cut-off in the published guidelines, so the gate is the tribe and indigenous inhabitant status, the first-year entry rule and the no-other-fellowship condition.

How much does the Nagaland State Research Scholarship pay?

The Directorate's revised rates table sets the following:

The annual figure therefore depends on how many months of the session are sanctioned. A PhD scholar sanctioned for twelve months receives Rs 24,000 in stipend plus the Rs 5,000 contingency grant. The contingency amount is meant for the running costs of research; books, photocopying, field travel and similar — rather than living expenses.

Payment is by transfer to the bank account whose passbook front page you uploaded. The Directorate states plainly that it will not be responsible for non-receipt of the scholarship caused by wrong or inactive bank account details furnished by the applicant.

What documents are required?

For a fresh application:

• Attested photocopy of the class 10 admit card.
• Attested photocopy of the last qualifying final examination mark sheet.
• Attested photocopies of the Scheduled Tribe Certificate and the Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate, issued by the competent designated authority.
• A copy of the synopsis of the proposed research work, countersigned by your guide or supervisor (PhD scholars).
• An attested photocopy of the registration card or letter (PhD scholars).
• Part C, the research format enclosed with the guidelines.
• Photocopy of the front page of the bank passbook.
• Photocopy of the admission receipt.
• One recent passport photograph pasted on the printed form.

The guidelines carry a helpful concession: if you are not in a position to furnish the registration card or letter and the synopsis, submitting Part C (Research) will suffice. That matters because university registration paperwork often lags well behind admission.

For a renewal application:

• A copy of the progress report of your research work, attested and signed by your guide or supervisor.
• The registration card or letter and synopsis, if you did not submit them at the fresh stage.
• Photocopy of the front page of the bank passbook.
• Photocopy of the Aadhaar card.
• One recent passport photograph pasted on the printed form.

Renewal of a PhD application is considered only if the registration card or letter and the synopsis were submitted at either the fresh or the renewal stage. Deferring them forever is not an option.

How to apply for the Nagaland State Research Scholarship

1. Open the Common Scholarship Portal at scholarship.nagaland.gov.in during the window: 1 August to 31 October 2026 for the 2026-27 session.
2. Register on the portal and select the Nagaland State Research Scholarship, choosing Fresh if you are in the first year of your PhD or D.Litt, or Renewal if you were a beneficiary last year.
3. Download Part C (Research) from the Higher Education website, get it filled and signed, and keep it ready along with the synopsis and registration card if you have them.
4. Fill the e-form carefully and upload the scanned documents. Correction after online submission is not entertained, and incomplete or wrong entries are summarily rejected, so review every field before submitting.
5. Print the submitted form and paste a recent passport photograph on it.
6. Send the printed form together with all required documents by speed post or hand post to the Scholarship Section, Directorate of Higher Education, Below New Secretariat Complex, Nagaland, Kohima 797001, within the stipulated time.

Unlike the State Merit Scholarship, research scholars do not route the hardcopy through an Institution Nodal Officer. The guidelines direct all research applicants to post the papers to the Directorate directly.

How to check your application status

Log back into scholarship.nagaland.gov.in with the credentials you created and open your application. The portal maintains a timestamped log of every action; submission, deletion, verification and rejection, so the current stage of your file is visible there. For anything the portal does not answer, contact the Nagaland Scholarship Nodal Cell.

Why State Research Scholarship applications get rejected

• Hardcopy never posted. An online submission alone does not create a valid application.
• Neither Part C nor the registration card and synopsis enclosed, leaving the research bona fides unproven.
• Holding another fellowship. A UGC, CSIR or ICSSR award, or a university stipend.
• Government or semi-government employment, which is an outright bar.
• Applying after the first year of research without having been a beneficiary in the previous year.
• Fourth renewal attempt after three awards already taken.
• Incomplete or wrong e-form entries, which the guidelines say are summarily rejected with no chance of correction.
• Wrong or inactive bank account details, which stop the money even after approval.

Help and grievance redressal

• Scholarship Section, Directorate of Higher Education, Below New Secretariat Complex, Nagaland, Kohima 797001.
• Nagaland Scholarship Nodal Cell nodal officer: Shri S. Lisepi Sangtam, Assistant Director to 9612520569.
• Portal: scholarship.nagaland.gov.in.
• Guidelines and Part C format: downloadable from the Higher Education department website under downloads and formats for scholarships.

The Directorate warns applicants directly: a false statement, declaration or document, or a scholarship obtained by fraudulent means, results in the scholar being blacklisted and debarred from this and every other scholarship scheme for the entire period of study, with recovery of any amount already paid.