Scope

a. The Scheme provides financial assistance to the selected candidates for pursuing Masters level courses and Ph.D. courses abroad in Institutions/Universities accredited by the Government/authorized body of that country in any field of study.

b. In each Selection Year, 125 fresh awards, subject to availability of funds, will be given under the Scheme. However, there will be a cap of 10% of the total slots for each state while allotting the slots. In case, the slots of any state remains vacant, then these slots for that year will be open for allocation to the candidates belonging to other states including the state on which the cap of 10% has been applied.

c. The following will be the category-wise distribution of slots for various groups eligible for scholarships under the scheme:

d. Definitions: i. Landless agricultural laborer means an individual and their family members who do not own any property, land, or business and whose principal means of livelihood is manual labour on agricultural land.

ii. Traditional artisans means individuals and their families who earn their livelihood through traditional artisanal practices.

e. If for any specific year, successful candidates are not available to the extent prescribed for each of the above listed categories, the awards for that year will become open for candidates belonging to other categories mentioned above as per merit criteria under the scheme.

f. 30% of the awards for each year shall be earmarked for women candidates. However, in case, adequate women candidates are not available as per the stipulations of the scheme, then the unutilized slots will be utilized by selecting suitable male candidates.

g. Bachelors Level courses in any discipline are not covered under the Scheme.

h. Candidates already staying or studying or having completed studies abroad by utilizing any other scholarship from State Government, other agency, or through own funds are not eligible to apply under NOS.

i. Candidates having unconditional offer of admission to top 500 ranked foreign Institutes/Universities as per the latest available QS World University Rankings for the year 2024 only will be selected for grant of scholarship during the first round of selection. The QS ranking of the University for its campus in any other country will be considered as per the QS ranking of the University Campus in that country. If there is no QS ranking available for its campus in other country then it will not be considered. In the second round of selection in the year, the following priority will be given:

i. Candidates having unconditional offer letter of admission from Top 500 QS Ranking Institutions applying in the second cycle.

ii. Candidates having unconditional offer letter of admission from other QS ranked Institutions, who have applied for scholarship under the scheme during the previous cycles or current cycle of the current year for admission.

iii. Candidates having unconditional offer letter of admission from other recognized Institutions, who have applied for scholarship under the scheme during the previous cycles or current cycle of the current cycle for admission.

However, any financial condition mentioned in the offer of admission such as deposit of fee or any other amount, or proof of source of funds, shall not be a bar for consideration of application under the Scheme guidelines.

j. The candidates who leave country for pursuing their further studies before issuance of final award letter must intimate this Department, providing detailed information about their source of funding; including loan documents, proof of financial transaction etc. before leaving the country Failure to comply will result in the cancellation of their candidature.

Age

Not more than 35 (Thirty Five) years, as on first day of April for selection year.

Income Ceiling

Total family income from all sources shall not exceed Rs.8.00 lakh per annum in the preceding financial year as detailed in para 8 c of these guidelines. The income certificate should be issued by a Revenue Officer not below the rank of “Tehsildar”. The students will submit the complete ITR/ITRs along with the CPC intimation order under Section 143(1) issued by the IT Department in respect of self and other family members before issuance of final award letter. The income certificate should either be in digital format, format of Govt. of India/State or on the letter head of the issuing authority.

Family

Under the Scheme, for determination of family income, the family will be considered as following: “The candidate applying for scholarship, his/her parents and siblings below the age of 18 years, his/her spouse and also children below the age of 18 years.”

Note: In case of married women, income of the in-laws and her spouse and children below the age of 18 years will beconsidered.

Maximum Number of children in a family for the award

An awardee cannot be considered for the award for a second time as the award can be given only once. Not more than two children of the same parents/guardians will be eligible be required from the candidate to this effect. The second child of the same parents/guardians will be considered only if slots are still available in the last cycle of the year in which the applicant has applied.

Application Procedure

a. The scheme will be advertised in the news papers/other media giving summarized information about the Scheme. The candidates, after assessing their eligibility and suitability, as per the eligibility conditions of the Scheme Guidelines, can apply online to this Ministry on the portal, i.e., www.nosmsje.gov.in.

b. The selection year period would be April-March of each year. The portal shall be opened for calling of applications for the first round from mid of February for a period of 45 days (before the beginning of selection year) and only online applications received shall be considered for award of selection. In case the slots remain unfilled, the portal will be opened again for the second cycle from 1st of September for a period of 45 days in each selection year. Once all the 125 slots are filled, the portal will not be reopened during the year for submission of applications.

c. For the first round of each Selection Year, family income for last completed financial year will be taken into account for the purpose of selection. For the second round, the family income for the previous completed financial year will be taken into account for purpose of selection. For example, for the selections for the financial year 2024-25, online portal for inviting applications of NOS Scholarship for first round will be opened from 15 February 2024 to 31 March 2024 and family income for financial year 2022-23 will be taken into account for purpose of selection. However, in such cases where gross annual income for FY 2022-23 is more than Rs.2.5 lakh, then in such cases family income for the financial year 2023-24 i.e. last completed financial year will also be taken into account before issue of final award letter besides family income for the financial year 2022-23 (to be furnished during the application submission process) and scholarship will be granted to the candidate subject to the condition that his/her family income for the financial year 2023-24 is less than Rs.8.00 lakh. Failing this, the provisional award letter issued to the candidate will stand cancelled. The portal for second round will be opened from 1st September, 2024 to 15th October, 2024 and for that family income for financial year 2023-24 will be taken into account for purpose of selection.

d. Online applications complete in all respects only shall be considered for award. All the incomplete applications will be summarily rejected. However, the rejected candidates will have the option to apply in subsequent phases of selection. The candidates are required to submit documents as per the attached Annexure I.

e. Grievances in connection with results will be entertained for upto 30 calendar days from the publication of the Result in the portal.

Selection Procedures

a. Only candidates who have submitted their Aadhar card and obtained unconditional offer of admission from one of the foreign Institutions/ Universities which are in the list of top 500 ranked institutions/ universities from the academic session 2024-25 and onward shall be considered for award of scholarship for studying in that Institution/University subject to fulfillment of other eligibility conditions of the Scheme. However, in case the students are unable to submit their Aadhar Card on the portal at the time of application, they will be asked to mandatorily submit their Aadhar ID/Aadhar EID before the issue of final award letter/confirmation letter failing which the provisional award letter issued to them would be revoked.

b. No request for change of Institution/University shall be entertained. In case the selected candidate desires to change the course or university, he/she can apply afresh in the next available round.

c. There will be only two round of Selection. For every cycle of selection, merit list of the eligible candidates shall be drawn up on the basis of the rank, as per the latest available QS ranking, of the foreign Universities/Institutions from where the candidate has received the offer of admission and scholarships shall be awarded in order of this merit. This provision will be implemented in accordance with the Clause 2(b). The candidates holding an offer letter from the higher ranked University/ Institution will be ranked higher in the merit list. In case of a tie between the QS rankings of two or more candidates, their position in merit will be decided on the basis of the marks/grades secured by the candidate in the qualifying examination for the higher studies for which the scholarship has been applied for.

d. The online applications of the eligible candidates shall be placed before the Selection-cum-Screening Committee for making their recommendations for selection and ranking of the eligible candidates for scholarship.

e. Wait list of eligible candidates will be maintained in the final round. The wait list will be valid upto 31st March of the selection year. Candidates on the wait list may apply for the next selection year as well. Waitlist will be maximum of 50% of the total seats.

f. The selected candidates who have already secured admission in foreign University/ Institution shall be issued provisional Award of Scholarship letters.

g. Students may be allowed a maximum time period of either one year or two intake deferrals, whichever is earlier from the date of issuance of provisional award letter to join university/Institute abroad failing which the award would stand automatically cancelled and no correspondence in this regard will be entertained thereafter.

h. If in case Confirmation of Award letter is issued to an awardee, he/she has to complete all the procedures like verification of original documents, submission of Bonds, Solvency Certificates etc. within SIX (6) months from the date of issuance of Confirmation of Award Letter, otherwise the award letter will be automatically cancelled. No further time will be granted for completion of these formalities.

i. The timelines for selection of candidates under the guidelines is placed at Annexure-II.

Mandatory Conditions

i. The candidates are required to submit their Aadhar Card on the NOS portal and make their own efforts in seeking admission in programmes/ fields specified in the Scheme in the latest available top 500 QS ranking Institutions/Universities.(https://www.topuniversities.com/ university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2024)

ii. The candidate is not eligible for scholarship under this scheme to pursue the same level (Masters/Ph.D.) of course for which he/she has already acquired the qualification from any University/Institution either in India or abroad.

iii. Topics/courses concerning Indian Culture/heritage/History/Social studies on India based research topic shall not be covered under NOS. The final decision as to which Topic can be covered under such category will rest with Selection-cum-Screening Committee of NOS.

iv. Employed candidates are required to provide a “No Objection Certificate” (NOC) from the Employer to this Ministry.

v. In case the awardee was a Government Servant before going abroad, on return to India he/she is also required to serve the Government, if he/she continues to be in Government service after return to India, as one was before going abroad with award under the Scheme.

vi. All administrative matters like study leave, salary etc. will be directly resolved by the candidate with his/her employer and as per rules of the serving organization. This Ministry will not take any responsibility or render any assistance in this regard.

vii. It will be for the candidate to obtain the appropriate visa for a country wherein he/she intends to study further with the award from the Scheme, and the Visa issuing authorities may see that only such type of visa be issued which permits the candidate to pursue specified course abroad and thereafter the candidate returns to India. In case the candidate is applying for admission in any University in the United States of America, the candidate is required to obtain J-1 VISA only. The State Department of USA keeps a list of Designated Sponsor Organizations for J-1 visas for students. Candidates going to USA should apply in the J-1 Visa sponsoring Universities/colleges only. In case a candidate has applied for admission on F-1 Visa or has already obtained F-1 Visa, such candidate is not eligible for scholarship under the Scheme. Government of India will render no assistance to the candidate for obtaining Visa.

viii. The candidate will give an undertaking that he/she will allow his/her University to share information with concerned Indian Mission abroad and the Ministry. The candidate will also give an undertaking that he/she is not in receipt of any scholarship from Government of India/State Government/ foreign government/other organization in India or abroad. In case candidate is in receipt of any scholarship from University/College in which he/she has secured admission for the course, the same scholarship will be allowed, however, the candidate should report the same to this Ministry and this amount of scholarship will be deducted from admissible amount under NOS. The selected candidate will also be required to give an undertaking to this Ministry and the Indian Mission abroad, as per prevailing laws of the foreign country, that the extension of stay abroad beyond completion of the course or duration of the scholarship under the scheme, whichever is earlier will not be permissible. However, the extension of stay abroad beyond completion of the course or duration of the scholarship under the Scheme, whichever is earlier is permissible as mentioned in clause 14.

ix. In case the concerned University/Institute is allowing online classes to the awardee due to Corona Pandemic (covid-19) or any other such unavoidable situation arising in future, the candidate is required to join the online classes after completion of all the procedural formalities as per scheme guidelines.

x. The selected candidate is required to execute a bond on a non-judicial stamp paper before a notary-public with two sureties who will execute surety bonds separately for the actual amount to be spent by Government of India on the candidate or Rs.50,000/- (fifty thousand) whichever is higher. Each of the surety bonds shall specify and cover for the estimated expenditure in Indian Rupees that would be incurred as travel expenses, fees, maintenance and contingency allowances, stipends, scholarship and other miscellaneous expenses, on the awardee during the entire period of study abroad and shall become payable by the sureties jointly or/and severally in case the awardee is declared a defaulter by the Ministry under the provisions of the scheme. The language of the bond as decided by the Government of India has to be acceptable to the candidate. The selected candidates have to provide solvency certificates for both the sureties to be issued by Revenue department of the concerned State Government.

xi. In case the selected candidate obtains admission in an accredited University/Institution abroad and joins the University/Institution before execution of bonds as mentioned in clause 10(ix) and is not in a position to return to India then he/she may execute a Power of Attorney (POA) for any of his/her representative in India to act for and on his/her behalf to execute legal Bonds/agreements/undertakings with the Government of India. All such applicants are required to get the POA attested/validated by Indian Embassy/High Commission in the country where he/she is pursuing studies.

xii. The Selected candidates are required to furnish all such documents and enter into such agreements before their departure as shall be decided by the Government of India from time to time.

xiii. In case the married candidate take a decision to take their spouse and children with them or join them subsequently during the period of study, it is entirely for them to assess their financial potential and availability of passport, visa etc. as no financial assistance of any kind as well as any other support coverage is provided under the Scheme for their spouse and children.

xiv. In case the awardee has received over payment through Indian Mission abroad or any other Government agency, he/she is liable to refund the same to Government of India and his/her employer (if any) is authorized to recover the excess amount from his/her dues, on request from Government of India, and refund the same to Government of India.

xv. No scholarship will be disbursed/ paid to the candidates who complete their education abroad without completing the required procedure/formalities under NOS Scheme.

xvi. This Ministry, if necessary, in consultation with other Departments/Agencies, will take decision on such issues concerning awardees arising out of such situations and circumstances which are of unforeseeable nature and, thus, not covered under this written Scheme and the decisions of the Ministry will be final and binding on the awardees.

xvii. The candidates shall not change the course of study or research for which scholarship has been sanctioned. However, when situations arise where an awardee pursuing Ph.D in a University/Institution where one is initially registered finds his/her guide has left and there are no immediate replacements thereof or the University/Institutions has discontinued their search support

Role of Indian Mission

i. Indian Mission will make payments of tuition fees/maintenance allowance/other allowances to the students studying in their jurisdiction as per the existing arrangements and sanction orders.

ii. In case the awardee is unable to complete the course successfully, he will be declared defaulter and will become liable for refund of entire amount spent on him/her along with the interest as prescribed in clause 16 on Defaulter clause. However, if the guide/head of the department of the candidate certifies that the candidate has not been found wanting in his/her commitment/dedication/attention to studies then the Ministry shall have the right to exempt him/her from the penalty clause of defaulter under the Scheme. The Indian Missions, in all such cases, will provide the return air passage to India by shortest route and economy class.

iii. When the awardee overstays abroad for more than one month after successful completion of the course and then of his/her own returns to India at own cost, he/she will not be entitled to receive refund of return passage booked by him/her. In normal circumstances, immediately after successful completion of the course, the Indian Missions abroad books the return journey, for the awardee as provided in the Scheme, and thus, the overstaying awardee without any specific purpose for more than a month after the course is over, will forfeit his/her claims of return passage at Government expense through Indian Missions abroad.

iv. Monitoring the progress of the students on regular basis.

v. The Indian Missions are required to intimate to this Ministry about the return of the awardee to India.

Monitoring

i. The Indian Missions abroad will obtain bi-annual progress reports from the University/ Institution where the awardee is pursuing his/her studies for which the award was given under the Scheme. The Missions will inform to this Ministry such serious adverse developments in case of the awardee which requires decision towards further continuation of the award or otherwise. The Missions will, however, keep on advising such awardees to put serious efforts in improving their achievements that are not seen to be up to the mark as reflected in their said bi-annual progress reports and they may also be reminded that financial assistance under the Scheme is not extendable beyond the stipulated period under the Scheme.

ii. The payment of Maintenance Allowance is linked with furnishing of progress report. For first semester, the maintenance allowance may be paid to the scholarship awardee in the first instance as an advance in two installments: first after three months and second after another three months. Thereafter, the maintenance allowance for the next semester may be paid quarterly only after receipt of the satisfactory progress report of the awardee.

iii. The Mission & Ministry will maintain position of selection, sanction order, release of funds & progress of students etc. on the NOS Portal.

Financial Assistance

Note: i. The Contingency allowance is allowed for books/essential apparatus including laptop/ study tour/ travel cost for attending subject related conference, workshops etc./ typing and binding of thesis etc. and the fees charged by the University/ Institutions which are directly related to the studies of the Scholarship Awardees such as Student Service Fees, Student Amenity Fees, Student Service and Amenity Fees, Registration Fees, Examination Fees, Enrollment Fees, Library Fees etc. However, the fee for English or any other Language courses either before joining of the course or during the course is not allowed.

ii. Second or Coach Class railway fare from the port of disembarkation to the place of study and back. In case of far flung places not connected by rail, bus fare(s) from the place of residence to the nearest railway station, actual charge of crossing by ferry, air fare to the nearest rail-cum-air Station and/or second class railway fare by the shortest route to the port of embarkation and back will be permissible. The mode of disbursement of above listed financial assistance will be decided by Government of India and Indian Missions abroad.

iii. The awardees are permitted to supplement their prescribed allowances by undertaking Research/Teaching Assistantship.

iv. In case of awardees who are pursuing online classes in India for any reason, the rate of maintenance allowances will be applicable as per the approved rates of Academic Allowance under the Post Matric Scholarship for SCs implemented by the Ministry of SJ&E for Day scholars who are pursuing courses categorized as Group 1 under the scheme of Post Matric Scholarship for SCs.

v. In case a selected student pursuing research visits India for study/research purpose under the NOS scheme with approval from respective Indian Mission and concerned University, the rate of maintenance allowances etc. in India will be applicable as per the rate under National Fellowship Scheme for Scheduled Castes implemented by Ministry of SJ&E.

Duration of Award with Financial Assistance

i. The prescribed financial assistance will be provided upto sanctioned duration of the course/research or the following period, whichever is earlier:- Ph.D. -- 04 years (Four years) Master’s Degree -- 03 years (Three years)

ii. The extension of stay beyond prescribed period for levels of courses as mentioned above, may be considered without financial assistance of any kind except the air passage to return to India, if and only if recommendation of the competent concerned authority in the educational institution/ university as well as the Indian Mission abroad is received certifying that such an overstay for a specified period, is absolutely essential for facilitating the candidate to complete the course. The final decision in this regard will, however, rest with the Government of India alone.

Jurisdiction of the Scheme

The jurisdiction of the Scheme is upto providing prescribed financial support to the selected candidates for pursuing higher education in the specified subjects.

Default under the Scheme

In case a candidate pursuing studies abroad violates any of the terms and conditions of the bonds executed by him/her and that the educational Institution/University intimates the Indian Mission abroad about his/her adverse reports on studies and/or conduct and/or that the candidate leaves for any other country or absconds or joins any other university or course/programme or/and returns to India in case of exigency without intimating the Indian Mission abroad, he/she will be declared defaulter and will become liable for refund of entire amount spent on him/her along with the interest which will be 12% per annum and in case an awardee fails to repay the amount within six months from the date on which a demand for such refund is made, penal interest at the rate which is 2.5% higher than the above normal rate of interest on the outstanding amount would be charged. If the awardee fails to repay such amount along with interest thereon in the manner decided by Government of India, his/her sureties who have executed bonds, will be liable to pay the entire amount failing which the District Collector of the concerned district will realize the amount as arrears of land revenue.

Furnishing of False Information

If any candidate has furnished any false information/document and is established as false, he/she will be debarred from the award and if he/she has availed of it or is availing, an action will be initiated for recovery of the amount spent with 15% compound interest thereon. Such candidate will also be blacklisted for the future and the employed candidate will also have to face departmental action for such act, for which the Government of India will take up the matter with the respective employers. The respective employers are, therefore, also requested to carefully go through contents of the application of their employees before giving NOC to the applicant. The employers are also free to insist on candidates employed by them to execute such bonds with them, as they deem fit and necessary and in accordance with their rules and regulations in such cases.

Jurisdiction of the Scheme

The jurisdiction of the Scheme is upto providing prescribed financial support to the selected candidates for pursuing higher education in the specified subjects.

Litigation

Any litigation on matters arising out of this Scheme in India will be subject to sole jurisdiction of the courts situated in Union Territory of Delhi. The litigation arising abroad will be attended to by the Indian Missions abroad.

Administrative Expenses

A provision not exceeding 1% of the total budget of NOS will be made to Indian Mission abroad/Ministry for creation of database, publicity, hiring of manpower , NOS Portal maintenance/Upgradation and awareness generation or any other activities which will be necessary to run the scheme efficiently. Using the Administrative expenses, the Mission may engage personnel on a full/part time personnel for managing the related work, with approval of the Ministry.

Restriction from benefit of other scholarship scheme

The candidate shall be precluded from availing any other scholarship benefits of similar scheme of the Centre or State Governments.

Modification/Relaxation to any Clause of the Schemes of SHREYAS

Under special circumstances, Modification/Relaxation in the guidelines of the Schemes of National Overseas Scholarship for SC etc., except the financial norms may be considered and decided by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. Financial parameters may be changed in consultation with the Department of Expenditure

Annexure-I

A. List of Document Required at the Application Stage

1. 10th Board Certificate
2. Caste Certificate
3. Photo
4. Scanned Signature
5. Current Address proof/Permanent Address Proof, in case
different from current address
6. Qualifying Degree/Provisional Certificate
7. Mark sheet of qualifying examination
8. Valid Document regarding admission in Foreign University
(Application, Registration or Admission related document)(*).
9. Income documents of all family members
10. Employer's NOC Certificate if applicant is employed. Gap certificate in case there is gap of more than 6 months after completing qualifying degree.
11. ITR acceptance document.
12. Aadhar Card

B. In case the candidate is selected, they are required to submit the following documents upon the issuance of the Provisional Award Letter under the National Overseas Scholarship scheme for SC etc.:

i. Attestation form
ii. Self Declaration/Undertaking Regarding Total Annual Family Income.
iii. SELF DECLARATION REGARDING ANY PENDING CASE/NONCONVICTION OF OFFENSE.
iv. Copy of Passport
Further course of action will be processed by this Ministry for granting of Confirmation of Award Letter, after submission of above documents and verification of offer letter by concerned Embassy and original documents as sought by the Department.
Note:- Candidate is required to visit this ministry personally on any working day by taking prior permission/ appointment with all documents submitted along with application form in original for verification purposes.

C. After verification of all original documents in this Ministry and approval of Financial Department (IFD), the awardee will be issued Confirmation of award letter. The candidate’s applicant is required to submit following:

(i) Two Bonds on at least Rs.100/- non-judicial stamp paper complete in all respects, executed before a Notary Public for two sureties, as per the conditions laid down in the Regulations governing the Scheme of National Overseas Scholarship for SC etc. Candidate
(ii) Solvency certificates for both sureties.
(iii) Health certificate.
(iv) Two copies of your Passport and VISA.
(v) An undertaking/declaration on Non-judicial Stamp paper stating that awardee has not acquired the qualification for which he/she has been selected and has not obtained any other scholarship.
(vi) The date on which awardee is desire to undertake the Air journey for joining the foreign University.
(vii) Selected Candidates are requested to visit this ministry personally on any working days by taking prior permission/ appointment with all documents submitted along with copies of documents stated above.
(viii) They are also requested to provide PDF of all aforesaid documents via email also.
Note:- Specimen copy of bond, solvency certificate & Undertaking will be issued along with confirmation of award letter for doing needful. Undertaking is to be submitted in Rs.10/- Non Judicial stamp paper sworn before Notary public.

Annexure-II

a. The portal will be opened from 15th February to 31st March of each year for receiving application for the first round of selection of next selection year.
b. The application received will be scrutinized in the Section in 20-30 days.
c. Thereafter, the scrutinized applications will be placed before the Selection-cum-screening committee for recommendation/rejection of candidates which will take approx 10-15 days.
d. On the basis of the recommendations received from the Committee, final list for selection/rejection will be submitted for the approval of Hon'ble Minister (SJ&E).
e. The same procedure will be followed for the second round which will commence from the first week of September with the opening of portal for a period of 45 days.
f. The portal will be opened further for 3rd round in the month of January subject to availability of slots.
g. A list of selected/waiting/ rejected candidates will be uploaded on the online portal.
h. Individual email/messages will also be sent to all registered applicants in due course of time. Incomplete applications will be rejected summarily.
Note:- The above timeline is tentative