CENTRAL SECTOR SCHEME NATIONAL MEANS-CUM-MERIT SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME | नेशनल मीन्स कम मेरिट स्कोलरशिप

NMMS Scheme : The ‘National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme’ (NMMSS) is a Central Sector Scheme launched in May, 2008 to provide scholarships for meritorious students of classes IX to XII. The scheme is on-boarded on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP).

The scheme envisages award of one lakh fresh scholarships every year to selected students of class IX and their continuation/renewal in classes X to XII for study in a State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools under the scheme.

What is the objective of National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) ?

Objective: To award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their study and complete secondary stage.

Coverage: The scheme envisages award of one lakh fresh scholarships every year to selected students of class IX and their continuation/renewal in classes X to XII for study in a State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools under the scheme.

Scholarship Amount: An amount of Rs. 12000/- per student per annum. The rate of scholarship has been enhanced from Rs. 6000/- to Rs. 12000/- per year with effect from 1st April, 2017.

What is the Eligibility Criteria of NMMS Scholarship ?

Eligibility criteria to appear in NMMSS selection test:

• Students whose parental income from all sources is not more than Rs. 1,50,000/- per annum are eligible to avail the scholarships.
• The student must have minimum of 55 % marks or equivalent grade in Class VII examination for appearing in selection test for award of scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC and ST students).
• The student should be studying as regular student in a Government, Government-aided and local body schools. Students of NVS, KVS and residential schools are not entitled for the scholarships.
• There is reservation as per State Government norms.

Selection of Fresh Awardee Students:

• NMMSS selection test is conducted at stage of class-VIII.
• Each State and UT conducts its own test for selection of students for the award of the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship. Due publicity is given by the State and UT regarding the test. Interested eligible students may contact State Nodal Officer for details (List of ‘State Nodal Officers’(Tuesday, December 10, 2019) – (17 KB)).
• A student who fulfills the eligibility criteria must pass both the tests, i.e., Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) under NMMSS with at least 40 % marks in aggregate taken together for these two tests. For the SC/ST students, this cut off is 32% marks.

Selection of Renewal Awardee Students: The awardees should get minimum of 55% marks in Class IX and XI, and a minimum of 60% in Class X for continuance of scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST candidates).

The NMMSS Scheme has been on-boarded on National Scholarship Portal (NSP), which has been developed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for streamlining and fast tracking the release of Scholarships across Ministries / Departments with efficiency, transparency and reliability.

How To apply for NMMS Scheme?

NMMSS Process under NSP:

• To apply for NMMSS, students from different States and UTs, who have qualified in the MAT and SAT under NMMSS must register themselves on NSP.
• The applications are verified online on the portal by the prescribed State authorities.
• The final list of eligible candidates, complete in all respect, is provided to the MHRD by NSP Team for sanction of the scholarship.
• The Ministry of HRD thereafter sanctions funds and releases to State Bank of India (SBI), the implementing bank for the Scheme.
• The SBI disburses the scholarships to students directly by electronic transfer into their bank accounts under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) through Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

To apply for NMMSS or to know more, click here(link is external).

How to Apply for NMMS Scholarship?

If you wish to apply for NMMS, you must make sure that you fulfil all the Eligibility Criteria for this NMMS scholarship. Students can apply online form NMMS through National Scholarship Portal. Students are also informed about the availability of NMMS application forms by the authorities of their schools. The last date to submit the filled online NMMS applications is decided by state nodal officer every year. Students can also download the filled form from the official website or collect the same from their schools.

In the case of offline mode, students have to submit the filled NMMS Application form along with necessary documents to the school in which a student is studying. Candidates whose forms are accepted will be able to collect the admit cards from their respective schools, a few days before the exam. Follow the below instructions to submit the NMMS Application form successfully :

• Candidates can obtain the NMMS Application form through online mode, and two attested hard copy of the application form with essential documents should be submitted to the respective school. The head of school must forward the applications to nodal schools and retain one copy for school record.
• Candidates could download the NMMS application form of their respective state by clicking on the link below

Documents Required for NMMS Application Form

With the NMMS Application form, students have to attach a few documents. All the documents should be attested by the principal of the school and parents. Check the necessary documents that one should attach with NMMS application form-

• class mark sheet (only from government schools)(compulsory)
• Caste Certificate
• Income Certificate of Parents(compulsory)
• Disability Certificate
• Domicile

Exam Pattern

Though NMMS is a Central Government scholarship scheme, its selection test is conducted by each State/UT for their respective students. These tests include a mental ability test and a scholastic aptitude test whose guidelines are set by the NCERT. The applicants need to complete each test in a maximum time duration of 90 minutes. However, children of special abilities are given some extra time to complete the tests. Given below are the details about this State Level Examination Test.

NMMS Exam Pattern