AICTE Swanath Scholarship Scheme

What is the Swanath Scholarship Scheme?

Swanath Scholarship Scheme is a scholarship of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the statutory body for technical education under the Ministry of Education. AICTE created Swanath for students whose family support has been removed by death, martyrdom or serious illness, and who would otherwise leave a technical course part-way through.

According to AICTE's students' development schemes page, Swanath pays Rs 50,000 per annum to a selected student for every year of study: up to four years for a degree course and three years for a diploma course. The money is credited directly to the student's own bank account through DBT.

Swanath is a capped scheme: 2,000 scholarships are awarded, split equally between 1,000 degree and 1,000 diploma students. This matters more than most applicants realise, because it means selection is competitive on merit even among students who all meet the eligibility conditions.

Main features

• Rs 50,000 a year, renewable for the full course duration.
• 2,000 awards to 1,000 degree, 1,000 diploma.
• Family income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh a year from all sources.
• Applied for only on the National Scholarship Portal, scholarships.gov.in.
• Meant to cover fees, hostel, books and living costs; AICTE does not restrict the money to a single head.

Who is eligible for the Swanath Scholarship Scheme?

You can apply if you belong to one of these four categories:

• Orphan students, both parents deceased.
• Students who lost one or both parents to COVID-19.
• Wards of Armed Forces or Central Paramilitary Forces personnel martyred in action.
• Students whose parent is suffering from a critical, life-threatening disease such as cancer, or who died or became more than 80% disabled in an accident.

And you must also satisfy all of the following:

• Annual family income below Rs 8,00,000 from all sources, evidenced by a current-year income certificate that says so explicitly.
• Studying in a full-time regular Degree or Diploma course in an AICTE-approved institution.
• Holding a bank account in your own name, Aadhaar-seeded for DBT.

You cannot apply if:

• You already receive any other Central Government, State Government or AICTE-sponsored scholarship. Swanath cannot be stacked.
• Your family income exceeds Rs 8 lakh a year.
• Your course is distance, part-time, online or in an institution not approved by AICTE.
• You cannot produce a certificate naming the qualifying cause, for a COVID-19 claim, a death certificate that explicitly records COVID-19 as the cause of death is required, and a general death certificate will not do.
• You have discontinued the course or have not been promoted to the next academic year.

Applicants who do not fit any of the four categories should look instead at the AICTE schemes for other groups — Pragati for girl students in technical courses and Saksham for differently-abled students, which use the same portal and a similar Rs 50,000 award.

What documents are required for the Swanath Scholarship?

How to apply for the Swanath Scholarship online

1. Open the National Scholarship Portal at scholarships.gov.in and register as a fresh applicant, or log in if you already have a NSP ID.
2. Complete Aadhaar-based e-KYC, the portal will not release the application form until identity verification succeeds.
3. Select AICTE Swanath Scholarship Scheme from the list of Ministry of Education scholarships, choosing the degree or diploma stream that matches your course.
4. Fill in academic, family income and bank details exactly as they appear on your marksheets, income certificate and passbook.
5. Upload the category proof, income certificate, bonafide certificate, marksheets and bank passbook as scanned copies within the portal's size limits.
6. Submit the form and note the application ID, then ask your institution's nodal officer to complete institute-level verification. An unverified application is treated as incomplete.
7. Track the application on the portal, and use the defective application correction window if the institution or AICTE returns it for a fix.

For the 2026-27 cycle the National Scholarship Portal lists 31 October 2026 as the last date to apply, with the defective-application window closing on 15 November 2026 and institutional verification ending on 30 November 2026. Check the portal before relying on these dates, as AICTE has extended them in past years.

How are Swanath scholars selected?

Selection is on merit within the eligible pool. For degree applicants AICTE ranks candidates on Class 12 marks; for diploma applicants on Class 10 marks. Where marks tie, lower family income and then age are used as tie-breakers. Because only 1,000 awards exist in each stream, a student who meets every condition may still not be selected in a given year and should apply again in the next cycle if still eligible.

How much benefit does the Swanath Scholarship provide?

The award is Rs 50,000 per academic year, credited by DBT. Over a full four-year degree that is Rs 2,00,000, and over a three-year diploma Rs 1,50,000. AICTE does not tie the amount to specific expense heads, so it can be used for tuition, hostel, books, equipment or living costs.

Renewal is not automatic. The student must apply for renewal on the National Scholarship Portal each year and must have been promoted to the next year of the course.

Common reasons Swanath applications are rejected

• Income certificate does not state the figure, or is from an earlier year.
• Death certificate does not mention COVID-19 where the claim rests on it.
• Institution has not verified the application before the portal deadline.
• Bank account is not in the student's name or is not Aadhaar-seeded.
• Another scholarship is already being drawn, which disqualifies the student.
• Course or institution is not AICTE-approved.

Help and grievance redressal

• National Scholarship Portal helpdesk: 0120-6619540
• Institution nodal officer for verification status. This is the fastest route for a stuck application
• AICTE students' development schemes page at aicte.gov.in for the current year's guidelines and notified dates

Applying is free. Neither AICTE nor the National Scholarship Portal charges any fee, and no agent can secure a Swanath award.