The last date to apply for the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) has been extended till October 31. Eligible students are advised to apply soon. They can do so via the Ministry of Education's (MoE) official NMMSS portal: https://dsel.education.gov.in/nmmss.

As per a press release by MoE, posted on Tuesday, October 18, "Students whose parental income from all sources is not more than Rs 3,50,000/- per annum are eligible to avail the scholarships. The students must have a minimum of 55% marks or equivalent grade in Class VII examination for appearing in the selection test for award of scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST students)."

The release informs that under the NMMSS, meritorious students from economically weaker sections are awarded Rs 12,000 per annum to help and encourage them to continue their education after Class VIII and prevent their dropping out of school. One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students of Class IX every year under NMMSS. "NMMSS is boarded on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) — a one-stop platform for scholarship schemes given to students. NMMSS scholarships are disbursed directly into the bank accounts of selected students by electronic transfer through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS), following DBT mode. This is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme," the release states.

For more information on the eligibility criteria, application process and so on, the students can visit the official website. All the guidelines are available at the bottom of the page in PDF format, below which is the application link.