Green Passage Scheme

What is the Green Passage Scheme?

Green Passage Scheme is an Odisha government initiative that removes the cost of education for orphan students. Launched in the 2016-17 academic year by the Higher Education Department, Government of Odisha, the scheme guarantees that a child who has lost both parents does not drop out of Plus 2, degree or postgraduate study because nobody is left to pay the fees.

The scheme's design is unusually blunt about what it covers. Green Passage Scheme exempts orphan students from tuition fee, admission fee, laboratory fee and hostel charges, and provides free hostel accommodation and food. The exemption applies across government, government-aided and private institutions in Odisha, so a student is not forced into a particular college to keep the benefit.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic the Odisha government revised the scheme so that children who lost one or both parents to COVID-19 also come within its scope. That amendment widened the beneficiary base considerably, because the original definition required the loss of both biological parents with no adoptive parents in place.

Two departments now run parallel arms of the scheme. The Higher Education Department administers the main stream covering Plus 2 to postgraduation. The Skill Development and Technical Education Department administers a separate Green Passage (Orphans Students) listing on the Odisha State Scholarship Portal covering ITI, ITC, polytechnic and diploma students. Applicants should check which arm matches their course before applying.

How much does the Green Passage Scheme provide?

There is no single rupee figure, because the benefit is a fee exemption rather than a stipend. The value depends on the kind of institution:

The Rs 5,00,000 ceiling is the headline number to plan around. It is a total for the whole course, not an annual figure, so a four-year engineering degree and a two-year postgraduate course draw against the same cap in their respective enrolments.

On the Odisha State Scholarship Portal, the Skill Development and Technical Education Department stream lists the scholarship amount as "As per course duration (Per year)" with the target set by the number of applications received, and notes that the scholarship may be availed only once.

Who is eligible for the Green Passage Scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are an orphan, you have lost both biological parents and have no adoptive parents.
• You lost one or both parents to COVID-19, under the revised scope of the scheme.
• You are a child in foster care or supported by a guardian or a child care institution.
• You are studying anywhere from Plus 2 level up to postgraduation, or in an ITI, ITC, polytechnic or diploma course under the Skill Development stream.
• You hold Odisha domicile and are enrolled in a recognised government, government-aided or private institution.
• You belong to any category. The portal names General, SC, ST, OBC/SEBC and EBC as eligible for the ITI and polytechnic stream.

You cannot apply if:

• You have a living biological or adoptive parent. Orphan status is the entire basis of the scheme, and there is no partial-hardship route.
• You cannot produce parental death certificates. The death certificates are the load-bearing document; a self-declaration will not substitute for them.
• You are not an Odisha domicile holder.
• You are studying below Plus 2 level. School-stage support for orphan children runs through other Odisha welfare schemes rather than Green Passage.
• You are applying for a second time for the same course level. The portal records that the scholarship may be availed only once.

Reported guidance puts an annual family income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh on the higher education stream. That figure is not printed against the Skill Development stream on the State Scholarship Portal, where the family income column is blank, so confirm the income condition for your own course with the District Child Protection Officer before assuming it applies.

What documents are required?

For the ITI and polytechnic stream, the Odisha State Scholarship Portal lists these mandatory uploads:

For the higher education route, add the death certificates of both parents, a residence certificate, and the admission letter from the institution. Students orphaned by COVID-19 need the death certificate recording the cause of death, or the certification issued under the state's COVID-orphan verification process.

How to apply for the Green Passage Scheme

Online route — ITI, ITC, polytechnic and diploma students:

1. Open scholarship.odisha.gov.in and use the Check Eligibility link to confirm Green Passage appears among the schemes you qualify for.
2. Complete the one-time Aadhaar registration. Enter your Aadhaar number, type the OTP sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile number, and collect the user ID and password sent to your mobile and email.
3. Log in, select Skill Development & Technical Education Department as the department and Green Passage (Orphans Students) as the scheme.
4. Fill the student, academic, eligibility and bank sections. The portal lets you save and resume, so you do not have to finish in one sitting.
5. Upload the Aadhaar card, income certificate, bank passbook, photograph, college ID and last marksheet.
6. Submit, then download and print the form. The application locks on submission.
7. Hand the printout with originals to your institute's scholarship nodal officer, who verifies and forwards it to the department.

Offline route, higher education courses:

1. Download the Green Passage application form from the Higher Education Department website or collect it from your college office.
2. Attach the parental death certificates, income certificate from the Tahasildar, Aadhaar card, residence proof and the admission letter.
3. Submit the complete set to the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) of your district.
4. The DCPO verifies the orphan status and the documents, then forwards the case to the Higher Education Department for sanction.
5. Collect an acknowledgement from the DCPO office and keep the receipt number for follow-up.

How do I check my application status?

For the online stream, use Know Your Status on the portal home page and enter either your Aadhaar number or your application number; an OTP confirms your identity. The screen shows whether your institute has forwarded the application, whether the department has sanctioned it, and whether payment has been released.

If you notice an error after submitting, tell your institute's nodal person rather than filing a fresh application. The institute can Revert the application, which unlocks it in your login for correction and resubmission.

For the offline higher education route, follow up directly with the District Child Protection Officer, quoting the acknowledgement number.

Why Green Passage claims get rejected

• Death certificate not attached or not legible. This is the single most common failure, and it is fatal because orphan status cannot be inferred.
• Only one parent's certificate submitted where the case is not a COVID-19 loss. The general rule requires the loss of both parents.
• Institution not registered on the portal. If your college or course is missing from the drop-down, ask the institute to contact the District Welfare Officer, who will register it.
• Application submitted online but never forwarded by the institute before the deadline.
• Bank account in a guardian's name. The reimbursement is credited to the student's own Aadhaar-seeded account.
• Reimbursement claim above the Rs 5,00,000 ceiling in an unaided private institution. Amounts beyond the cap are not payable.

Key dates and where to complain

The most recent cycle on the Odisha State Scholarship Portal shows a last date of 10 December 2025 for Green Passage (Orphans Students) under the Skill Development and Technical Education Department. Windows reopen each academic year, and every extension is posted in the Announcement section on the portal home page. The portal has extended several scheme deadlines in past years, so a lapsed date is worth rechecking.

For technical trouble with the online form, the Sanjog Helpline on 155335 or 1800-345-6770 is the official helpdesk, open 9 AM to 5 PM on government working days. For orphan-status verification and offline claims, approach the District Child Protection Officer. Written grievances can be lodged through the Odisha government's public grievance portal at janasunani.odisha.gov.in.

Green Passage is free to apply for at every stage. No agent can charge a fee to register an orphan student under the scheme.