The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has revised the framework for scholarships available through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) for the 2026-27 academic year. The changes cover how students apply for multiple scholarships, how applications are verified and how merit-based and welfare-based schemes are treated.
The revised framework follows a government review of the NSP's deduplication process. During the 2024-25 academic year, some students receiving different forms of government support were flagged as duplicate beneficiaries. The government said the experience showed the need for clearer classification of scholarship schemes and a uniform approach to identifying duplicate applications.
Students can apply for both types of scholarships
One of the key changes is the classification of scholarships into merit-based and welfare-based categories.
Merit-based scholarships are linked to academic performance, rankings or achievements in qualifying or competitive examinations. The National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme, Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students and INSPIRE are among the schemes listed in this category.
Welfare-based scholarships provide financial assistance to students based on identified communities, categories or socio-economic circumstances. Pre-Matric and Post-Matric scholarships for SC, ST, OBC and minority students are among the examples.
Under the revised framework, a student receiving a welfare-based scholarship will not be denied a merit-based scholarship if they subsequently become eligible for one. The same rule applies when a student receiving a merit-based scholarship later becomes eligible for a welfare-based scheme.
The NSP currently allows students to apply for one merit-based scholarship and one or more welfare-based scholarships, subject to the eligibility conditions of the respective schemes.
Application process changes
The revised system will retain details submitted during a student's first scholarship application for use in subsequent applications. Students applying for another scheme will therefore need to enter only scheme-specific information and upload the documents required for that scheme.
There are also changes for applications marked "Defective". Students can edit scheme-specific information directly. However, if they need to change general, academic, institute or course details, all their submitted applications will first have to be withdrawn.
At the first level of verification, or L1, tuition fees, admission fees and other non-refundable fee components verified in the first application will be automatically carried into subsequent applications. Institute Nodal Officers will also be able to view all applications submitted by the student and their status.
At the second level of verification, or L2, nodal officers will be able to see all applications submitted by a student across scholarship categories. If a deficiency concerns general or academic information, the student's other applications will be flagged under the "Red Flag" category.
CBSE has asked the heads of its affiliated schools to circulate the revised framework among eligible students, parents and other stakeholders. The NSP portal is open for the 2026-27 academic year, and students are required to have a One Time Registration (OTR) number to apply.
