Pragati Scholarship for Girl Students (Uttarakhand)

What is the Pragati Scholarship for Uttarakhand girl students?

Pragati Scholarship is a technical-education scholarship for girl students, implemented in Uttarakhand through the state's Directorate of Technical Education with support from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The scheme is listed for Uttarakhand as "Pragati Scholarship (81 for Uttarakhand girl students, Diploma, and 50 for Graduation)", which describes how the state's seats are split: 81 seats for engineering diploma and 50 seats for engineering degree courses.

According to the Directorate of Technical Education, Uttarakhand, the aim of Pragati is to encourage girls to take up technical education and to give women equal opportunity in engineering and diploma streams that have traditionally been male-dominated. Each selected girl student receives Rs 50,000 per year to reduce the financial pressure of tuition, books, instruments and other study costs, so that money is less of a barrier to completing a technical qualification.

Pragati is a merit-cum-means style scholarship. It combines a girls-only focus with an income ceiling, so it is targeted at girl students from families that are not well-off. It sits alongside AICTE's Saksham scheme for specially-abled students, but the two are separate: Pragati is specifically for girl students.

Who is eligible for the Pragati Scholarship?

You can apply if:

• You are a girl student.
• You are admitted to the first year, or to the second year through lateral entry, of an AICTE-approved engineering diploma or degree programme.
• Your parents' combined annual income is below Rs 8,00,000.
• You are studying in a recognised, AICTE-approved technical institution.
• You are not already receiving another scholarship from the Central Government, a State Government or AICTE for the same course.

For Uttarakhand, the scheme covers 81 diploma seats and 50 degree seats, so selection is against a fixed number of places. A further national condition applies across all states: a maximum of two girls per family can receive the Pragati Scholarship, so a family with three eligible daughters can claim it for only two of them.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You are a boy, Pragati is for girl students only.
• Your family income is Rs 8,00,000 or more a year.
• You are enrolled in a college that is not AICTE-approved.
• You are already beyond the first-year (or lateral-entry second-year) entry point that the scheme targets.
• You are the third or later daughter in a family where two girls already draw the scholarship.
• You are already availing another Central, State or AICTE scholarship for the same programme.

How much does the Pragati Scholarship pay?

The scholarship is Rs 50,000 per year for each selected girl student. According to AICTE, the amount can be spent on college fees, and the purchase of a computer, stationery, books, equipment and software, a deliberately wide list so that the grant covers the real costs of a technical course, not tuition alone. It is disbursed to the student's own bank account, so an Aadhaar-seeded account in the student's name is important.

The Rs 50,000 is an annual amount. A diploma runs three years and a degree four, and the scholarship can continue for the duration of the course as a renewal, provided the student keeps meeting the eligibility conditions and the college verifies each year's renewal application on the portal. A student who wins Pragati in the first year should therefore file a renewal every year rather than treat it as a one-time payment.

What documents are required for the Pragati Scholarship?

How to apply for the Pragati Scholarship

Pragati is applied for online through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), which is the route AICTE now uses for the scheme. The Directorate of Technical Education, Uttarakhand, lists it as an online application handled through AICTE's portal.

1. Register on the National Scholarship Portal and create your login.
2. Fill the application form with your personal, course, family income and bank details.
3. Upload the documents, Aadhaar, income certificate, admission proof, marksheets, bank passbook and the institute certificate.
4. Submit the form before the annual deadline and note the application number.
5. Get it verified by your institute; your college head or director verifies the application, which is a required step before it is considered.

The National Scholarship Portal opens a fresh window each academic year, and the last date for fresh and renewal applications typically falls in the second half of the calendar year, for the 2025-26 cycle the announced NSP last date was 31 October 2025. Dates shift year to year, so always confirm the exact deadline for the current cycle on the portal before applying, and file well before the closing date because institute verification must also finish within the window.

Fresh application versus renewal

Pragati draws a clear line between a fresh application and a renewal. A girl applying for the first time — in her first year, or her lateral-entry second year; files a fresh application against the state's fixed seats. A student who already holds Pragati and is moving to the next year of the same course files a renewal, which is simpler because her eligibility is already established, but it is not automatic: she must submit the renewal on NSP each year and her institute must verify it. Missing a renewal window can cost a full year's Rs 50,000, so a Pragati holder should treat the annual renewal with the same care as the first application.

How do I check my Pragati Scholarship status?

Track your application on the same AICTE scholarship portal where you applied, using your application number and login. The status moves through stages such as institute verification and final approval before disbursement. Because the institute plays a verification role, following up with your college's scholarship coordinator is often the fastest way to know where your application stands.

Why do Pragati applications get rejected, and how to fix them?

• Income certificate above the limit or missing. The Rs 8,00,000 ceiling is strict; submit a valid, current income certificate.
• Institute not AICTE-approved, enrolment must be in an approved technical institution; this cannot be corrected at the student's end.
• Institute verification not completed, an application the college does not verify will not proceed; follow up with the institute.
• Wrong or non-Aadhaar-seeded bank account, correct the bank details so the Rs 50,000 can be transferred.
• Applying outside the entry point, the scheme targets first-year or lateral-entry second-year students, not those further along.

Where do I get help with the Pragati Scholarship?

In Uttarakhand, the Directorate of Technical Education is the state nodal body and publishes the scheme details at dte.uk.gov.in. For portal and application issues, the AICTE scholarship helpdesk handles queries, and your institute's scholarship coordinator is the on-ground contact for verification and document questions. Applicants should route problems through these official channels rather than any private agent, as there is no fee to apply.