Saksham Scholarship Scheme 2022-23 for Specially-Abled Students (Diploma & Degree)

Saksham scholarship is a Scheme introduced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD), now known as the Ministry of Education (MoE), and being implemented by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) aims at providing encouragement and monetary support to specially-abled children to pursue their dreams of technical education. This is an attempt by the Government of India to give every young specially abled student the opportunity to pursue education and establish a successful career through their technical education/knowledge.

Let’s know about the Saksham Scholarship Scheme 2022-23 for Specially-Abled Students (Diploma & Degree) in detail.

Eligibility Criteria

• The candidate should be admitted to the First year of the Diploma/Degree level course or the Second year of the Diploma/Degree level course through lateral entry in any of the AICTE-approved institutions of the respective year. 
• Only Specially-abled students, who have a disability of not less than 40% are eligible for the scholarship.
• The candidate must be a citizen of India. 
• Family income sources should not be more than INR 8 lakhs per annum considering all the sources of income during the current financial year. For verification and proof, a valid income certificate issued by the competent authority of the State/UT Government needs to be produced. 

Application Process

• Only those candidates who meet the desired eligibility criteria are allowed to apply online on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) after initiation of the application process.
• The selection of candidates for the Saksham scholarship will be made solely based on the merit of the qualifying examination to pursue the respective Technical Degree/Diploma course from any of the AICTE-approved institutions.
• The institution where the candidate is studying is required to verify the online application. 
• The Department of Technical Education (DTE) of the respective State/UT will verify these applications as a second level of scrutiny to avoid any discrepancy.

Also Read: Maharaj Rajarshi Shahu Scholarships

Documents Required 

1. Marksheet of class Xth/XIIth and others as applicable. 
2. Annual family Income Certificate of the preceding financial year in the prescribed format issued by not below the rank of Tehsildar. 
3. Disability certificate issued by the Competent Authority. 
4. Admission letter issued by Directorate of Technical Education for admission in Diploma/Degree course. 
5. Certificate of Admission issued by the Director/Principal/Head of the Institute. 
6. Tuition fee/Course fee receipt. 
7. Aadhar card and Bank passbook issued in the name of the student which includes the Account number, IFSC code, and Photograph.
8. Community Certificate for SC/ST/OBC category and EWS certificate (if applicable). 
9. Identity cards such as Aadhar card/Pan card/Driving License/Passport/Voter ID etc (anyone). 
10. Declaration by parents which is duly signed stating that the information provided by their ward is correct according to their knowledge and will refund the Scholarship amount in any case of discrepancy or any information found to be false at any stage. 

Reservation Criteria

In the Saksham Scholarship, there is a reservation for specially-abled candidates who belong to certain categories. 15% is reserved for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC), 7.5% is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 27% is reserved for Other Backward Category (OBC) candidates.

Amount of Scholarship

• A total amount of INR 50,000 per annum for every year of study will be granted to the students admitted in the first year for the next 4 years. For students admitted through lateral entry in the second year, a lump sum amount for a maximum of 3 years will be granted towards payment of college fees, purchase of computer, software, stationeries, books, equipment, etc.  
• No additional monetary grant will be sponsored in lieu of hostel charges, medical charges, etc.  

• To avail of the benefits of the Saksham Scholarship, no documentary proof is needed to be attached.
• However, only after selection, the awardee will receive the scholarship through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode on an annual basis.

Renewal of the Saksham Scholarship Scheme

• The scholarship will be renewed only upon receiving the receipt of renewal through the National Scholarship Portal by successfully submitting a passing certificate/mark sheet along with a letter from the Head of the Institution on the online portal for the next year of study. 
• The scholarship is neither transferable nor automatically updated. 
• Students failing to get promoted to the next year of study will automatically stand forfeited from the scholarship.

Also Read: Indian Government Schemes to Help Study Abroad Aspirants

Terms and Conditions

• The duration of the gap between the year of passing the qualifying examination and the session of admission in degree courses should not be more than two years. 
• Applications for scholarships will be invited once a year through the National e-Scholarship Portal of the Government of India. 
• Incomplete applications for scholarships will be automatically rejected. Only complete and verified online applications will be considered for the grant of scholarship. 
• If a candidate fails/drops out in subsequent years of the education, she/ he will stand ineligible for further scholarship. 
• The grant of scholarship is subject to the condition that the student does not receive any financial aid from any other sources in the form of 

1. Scholarship/any emoluments, 
2. Salary, stipend, etc. 

• In case of receipt of any financial aid from any other sources, the scholarship shall be forfeited immediately and the entire amount of scholarship has to be refunded to AICTE by Demand-Draft drawn in favor of “Member Secretary, AICTE” payable at New Delhi by the candidate. 
• The Scholarship scheme will be implemented and monitored by the AICTE. 
• For converting the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) to a percentage, multiplying factor will be 9.5 i.e. to convert the CGPA into a percentage; CGPA X 9.5 will give the percentage. 

1. In case both CGPA and total marks are given in the mark sheet, total marks will be considered for determining the percentage. 
2. If grades are given like A1, A2, B1, B2, etc. in the mark sheet, first the grades will be converted into CGPA and then the average CGPA will be calculated. 

• A provisional list of shortlisted candidates for the Saksham scholarship will be uploaded on the official AICTE web portal. 
• If in case, a candidate has any query about the merit list of scholarships, they may raise their grievances within a month of the declaration of the merit list. No query regarding the merit list will be entertained after one-month duration from the date of publication of the merit list on the AICTE website. 
• Query regarding non-payment of the scholarship due to an invalid/wrong account number will be looked after only up to six months from the date of publication of the merit list on the AICTE website.

FAQs

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