AICTE Saksham Scholarship Scheme

What is the AICTE Saksham Scholarship Scheme?

The AICTE Saksham Scholarship Scheme is a scholarship of the All India Council for Technical Education, under the Ministry of Education, for differently abled students in technical education. According to the AICTE students' development schemes page, the scheme awards Rs 50,000 annually as contingency and incidentals to differently abled students enrolled in AICTE-approved technical institutions, at both diploma and degree level.

Saksham is deliberately narrow. It is not a general disability scholarship and it is not a fee-waiver scheme. It is a cash allowance for students already admitted to a technical course at an AICTE-approved institution, meant to absorb the additional costs that disability imposes on a technical education: assistive devices, software, transport, note-takers, laptops and specialised equipment that a college laboratory does not supply.

Main features

• Rs 50,000 per year, paid as a contingency allowance rather than as a fee waiver.
• Open to diploma and degree students in AICTE-approved technical institutions.
• Requires at least 40 percent certified disability.
• Family income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh a year.
• Applications are accepted only through the National Scholarship Portal.

Who is eligible for the Saksham Scholarship Scheme?

You are eligible if:

• You are a differently abled student with at least 40 percent disability, certified by the competent medical authority.
• Your family income from all sources does not exceed Rs 8 lakh for the current financial year.
• You are enrolled in a diploma or degree level technical course at an AICTE-approved institution.
• You are studying in the first year on the strength of the qualifying examination, or in a later year through lateral entry, as permitted in the current AICTE notification.

You cannot apply if:

• Your certified disability is below 40 percent.
• Your family income is above Rs 8 lakh a year.
• Your institution is not approved by AICTE — this is the most common reason an otherwise valid application fails, because the institute code will not appear on the National Scholarship Portal.
• You are studying a non-technical course, such as a general BA, BSc or BCom, which falls outside AICTE's remit.
• You are already receiving another scholarship for the same course.

What documents are required for the Saksham Scholarship?

How to apply for the AICTE Saksham Scholarship

1. Open the National Scholarship Portal at scholarships.gov.in during the application window for the academic year.
2. Complete the one-time registration (OTR) with your Aadhaar number and mobile number, then log in as a student.
3. Choose Apply for Scholarship and select AICTE Saksham Scholarship from the list of central schemes.
4. Fill in your personal details, disability details, family income and institution details, selecting your college by its AICTE institute code.
5. Enter your own bank account number and IFSC; the account must be Aadhaar-seeded because payment is by Direct Benefit Transfer.
6. Upload the disability certificate, income certificate, admission proof and marksheets, then submit the application and save the application ID.
7. Ask your institute nodal officer to verify the application on the portal before the institute verification deadline. AICTE does not process unverified applications.
8. Track the application status on the portal, and file the renewal application in each subsequent year of the course.

AICTE publishes the opening and closing dates each cycle on the students' development schemes page and on the National Scholarship Portal, and the closing date is frequently extended. Check the portal rather than relying on a date quoted in a news article.

How much benefit does the Saksham Scholarship provide?

The scholarship is Rs 50,000 per year for the normal duration of the diploma or degree. AICTE describes the amount as a contingency and incidentals payment, which means the student may use it for tuition, books, a computer, software, assistive equipment or other academic essentials: there is no requirement to spend it on a specific head, and there is no separate fee-reimbursement component.

A four-year degree student who renews successfully every year therefore receives up to Rs 2 lakh over the course, and a three-year diploma student up to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Payment is made by Direct Benefit Transfer into the student's own bank account after institute and AICTE verification. The amount is not routed through the college and is not adjusted against college dues.

Why Saksham applications get rejected

• Institute is not AICTE-approved, so the institute code cannot be selected on the portal.
• Disability certificate below 40 percent, expired, or issued by an authority that is not the notified competent medical authority.
• Income certificate above Rs 8 lakh or issued for the wrong financial year.
• Institute verification not completed before the deadline.
• Bank account not in the student's name or not Aadhaar-seeded, so DBT fails.
• Renewal not filed in a subsequent year, which ends the scholarship even if the first-year award was sanctioned.

Help and grievance redressal

• National Scholarship Portal helpdesk: 0120-6619540
• AICTE students' development schemes page: aicte.gov.in/schemes/students-development-schemes
• Your institute's scholarship nodal officer, who handles portal verification

Applying is free. No agent or consultancy can secure a Saksham award, and AICTE communicates only through the National Scholarship Portal and its own website.