Chief Minister Merit Award (Tamil Nadu)

What is the Chief Minister Merit Award?

Chief Minister Merit Award is a merit incentive of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, launched on 7 May 2012. The award recognises students from the Adi Dravidar, Tribal and Adi Dravidar converted to Christianity communities who perform well in the plus two public examination, and pays them a cash award each year so long as they continue studying.

The terms of the award are:

• Rs 3,000 per year, for five years, Rs 15,000 in all.
• 1,000 boys and 1,000 girls selected each year, an equal split by design.
• Selection on the marks scored in the plus two public examinations.
• Payment conditional on the student continuing their education.

The design point worth understanding is the five-year tail. Many merit prizes are one-time cheques handed over at a function. This award instead follows the student through the years that matter most for retention. The undergraduate years, or a professional course, and stops if the student drops out. It is therefore a retention incentive dressed as a merit prize, aimed squarely at the point where students from Adi Dravidar and tribal households have historically left the education system.

A note on current status. The award does not appear as a separate head in the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department's 2025-26 policy note, which sets out the department's education schemes in detail. Students should therefore confirm the current year's position with their District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer rather than assume the award is being sanctioned this year. Everything stated on this page about amounts, numbers and selection reflects the scheme as notified.

Who is eligible for the Chief Minister Merit Award?

You can be considered if:

• You belong to the Adi Dravidar, Tribal or Adi Dravidar converted to Christianity community, certified by the Tahsildar.
• You are a resident of Tamil Nadu.
• You have written the plus two public examination and scored high enough to fall within the top 1,000 boys or top 1,000 girls of these communities in that year's results.
• You are continuing your education after plus two, which is the condition on which each annual instalment is released.

You are not eligible if:

• You do not belong to one of the three named communities. Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities students cannot apply here and should look at the Backward Classes Welfare Department's scholarships instead.
• You are not a resident of Tamil Nadu.
• You did not write the plus two public examination, since there is no other route to selection.
• Your marks fall below the cut-off set by that year's top 1,000 boys and top 1,000 girls in the eligible communities. Because selection is comparative against a fixed number of awards, a good score in a strong year may still not make the list.
• You have discontinued your studies. The annual release stops at that point, and a student who leaves education in year two does not receive the remaining three instalments.

There is no published income ceiling for the Chief Minister Merit Award, which distinguishes it from most Adi Dravidar Welfare Department scholarships, where income conditions do apply.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Chief Minister Merit Award

1. Write the plus two public examination and obtain the mark sheet. Selection is made from these results, so this is where the process actually starts.
2. Obtain a community certificate from the Tahsildar in the correct community category, if you do not already hold one. Files stall here more often than at any other step.
3. Approach your school and the District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer with the mark sheet and community certificate as soon as results are published, and ask to be considered for the Chief Minister Merit Award for that year. Schools with a large number of students from these communities usually forward a consolidated list.
4. Submit proof of admission to the next course, the bonafide certificate from the college, polytechnic or institution you have joined, since the award is paid only to a student who continues in education.
5. Provide your bank account details and Aadhaar, because the annual amount is credited to the student's own account.
6. Renew each year by giving the District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer a fresh bonafide certificate for the new academic year, for each of the five years.

How is the award paid?

The award is credited as Rs 3,000 a year into the student's own bank account, for up to five years. It is not paid as a lump sum of Rs 15,000 at the start, and it is not automatically continued — each year's release depends on the student producing evidence of continuing education.

How to check the status of your award

There is no online status tracker for this award. Ask your District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer, quoting your name, community certificate number, plus two register number and the year of selection. The Directorate of Adi Dravidar Welfare in Chennai, reachable through tnadw.tn.gov.in, is the next level. Selection lists for a year are usually available at the district office and with the school that forwarded the names.

Why students miss out, and how to avoid it

• No community certificate at the time of selection. Apply for it before results are published, not after.
• Marks below the year's cut-off. Selection is against a fixed number of awards, so this is a comparative outcome and not a defect in the application.
• No proof of continuing education, which stops the release even for a selected student.
• Bank account not in the student's own name, or not Aadhaar-seeded, which fails the credit.
• Renewal not filed in the second and later years. Many students receive the first instalment and lose the rest simply by not submitting the next bonafide certificate.
• Assuming the award is automatic. Approach the District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer with your papers rather than waiting for a letter.

Related Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare education schemes

The department runs a substantial set of education schemes for the same communities, and a student who does not make the Chief Minister Merit Award list should still claim these:

• Free education and scholarships for Adi Dravidar and tribal students, including tuition fee and special fee concessions.
• Post-matric and pre-matric scholarships.
• Departmental hostels. The department runs a large hostel network, with 98 Adi Dravidar Welfare higher secondary schools among its institutions.
• Eklavya Model Residential Schools for tribal students.
• Admission of Adi Dravidar and tribal students in plus one at reputed schools.
• Free supply of stationery and text books.

Help and grievance route

• District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer of your district. The first point of contact for selection, renewal and payment questions.
• Directorate of Adi Dravidar Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu: tnadw.tn.gov.in
• Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, Secretariat, Chennai.
• District Collector, for a grievance that the district office has not resolved.

No fee is payable at any stage. No agent is authorised to charge for getting a name included in the merit award list: selection is made from the published plus two results.