National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students: Why Applications Get Rejected and How to Fix It

Applications under the National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students (NFST) are rejected for a handful of well-defined, avoidable reasons, most of them documentation and verification failures rather than merit. This article lists each reason and its fix, and points to the grievance route. For eligibility and how much NFST pays, see the parent NFST guide; here we only troubleshoot rejections.

The most common rejection reasons, and how to fix each

1. Institution verification not completed

This is the single most common cause. You submit the form, but your university or institute never verifies it on the portal, so it is treated as incomplete and rejected. Fix: after submitting, personally follow up with your university's scholarship/research cell (fellowship) or the institute nodal officer on NSP (scholarship) to complete verification before the deadline. The ministry cannot verify on the institution's behalf.

2. Marks below 55% (fellowship component)

The fellowship component requires at least 55% in the post-graduate examination. An application below that is rejected. Fix: this is a hard eligibility bar — confirm your PG percentage against the notification before applying. If your marksheet shows CGPA, use the university's official conversion so the recorded percentage is correct.

3. Part-time or distance registration

NFST fellowship needs regular, full-time M.Phil/PhD registration in a UGC-recognised institution. Part-time, distance, correspondence or open-learning registration is rejected. Fix: ensure your registration letter clearly states "regular, full-time." If it does not, get the institution to issue a corrected certificate.

4. Another fellowship already held

Applicants declare they are not drawing another fellowship. Holding UGC-JRF, CSIR-JRF, a state fellowship or an institutional stipend for the same course is disqualifying and, if concealed, leads to rejection. Fix: do not apply while holding another fellowship for the same research. If you have surrendered a previous one, keep the surrender/relinquishment proof ready.

5. Invalid or expired ST certificate

A Scheduled Tribe certificate from an authority that is not competent under the rules, or an outdated one, causes rejection. Fix: obtain the ST certificate from the competent revenue authority in the prescribed format, and check that name and spelling match your other documents exactly.

6. Family income above Rs 6 lakh (scholarship component only)

The scholarship component has a Rs 6 lakh annual family-income ceiling. Income above it is rejected. This ceiling does not apply to the fellowship component. Fix: attach a current income certificate; if you are near the limit, ensure it is computed and dated correctly by the issuing authority.

7. Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded

Even after selection, a non-Aadhaar-seeded bank account blocks the DBT payment and can stall the case. Fix: get your account Aadhaar-seeded at the branch before the disbursement stage.

8. Document format / size or mismatched details

Uploads in the wrong format or size, or a name/subject/university mismatch across documents, cause rejection at scrutiny. Fix: follow the portal's prescribed format and size, and keep names and dates consistent across the ST certificate, marksheets, registration proof and bank passbook.

How to fix a rejected application (grievance and correction route)

1. Read the recorded reason in the application status on fellowship.tribal.gov.in (fellowship) or scholarships.gov.in (scholarship). Do not act until you know the exact reason.
2. Correct at source. If it is a verification gap, get the institution to verify. If it is a document defect, obtain a corrected document.
3. Use the portal grievance option on scholarships.gov.in for scholarship-component issues, or the portal support on fellowship.tribal.gov.in for fellowship issues.
4. Escalate to the National Scholarship Portal helpdesk (0120-6619540) or the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, New Delhi (011-23383303), quoting your application reference number.
5. Re-apply in the next cycle if the rejection is a hard eligibility bar (marks, category, income for the scholarship) that cannot be corrected this year.

FAQ

Can a rejected NFST application be reconsidered the same year? If the cause is a correctable verification or document defect, follow up through the institution and portal grievance route. Hard eligibility failures require re-applying next cycle.

My fellowship was rejected for "no institute verification" but I did submit. What now? Submission is not verification. The university must verify separately. Contact your research/scholarship cell immediately.

Does income affect the fellowship? No. The Rs 6 lakh income ceiling applies only to the scholarship component, not the research fellowship.