Aikyashree Scholarship for Minority Students

About this scheme

The Aikyashree Scholarship scheme is a vital socio-economic development tool created by the West Bengal State Government to address equity in education. It works by disbursing multiple sub-categories of scholarships—namely Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, Merit-cum-Means (MCM), the Talent Support Programme (TSP), and the Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means (SVMCM) scheme. The core objective is to reduce dropout rates among minority communities by providing continuous financial cushioning across different milestones of a student's career. Funds are mapped directly to educational institutions to subsidize tuition and basic living costs via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Eligibility

• Domicile: Must be a permanent resident (domicile) of West Bengal
• Minority community: Must belong to a recognized minority community: Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, or Parsi
• Enrolment: Must be enrolled in a full-time regular course at a government-recognized school, college, or university in West Bengal
• Minimum marks: At least 50% aggregate marks (or equivalent grade) in last qualifying exam (waived for Class 1)
• Family income: Annual family income must not exceed ₹2 Lakh for Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, and TSP; ₹2.5 Lakh for Merit-cum-Means and SVMCM
• No concurrent scholarship: Must not be availing any other concurrent government scholarship

Benefits

• Pre-Matric scholarship up to ₹11,000
• Post-Matric scholarship up to ₹16,500
• Merit-cum-Means scholarship up to ₹33,000
• Covers tuition and basic living costs via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
• Includes Talent Support Programme (TSP) and Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means (SVMCM) variants

Required documents

• Recent passport-size color photograph
• Aadhaar Card (student and guardian)
• Domicile Certificate or proof of residence (Voter Card / Ration Card)
• Official Income Certificate from BDO/Joint BDO/Gazetted Officer
• Self-attested marksheet of last qualifying examination
• Current year's admission fee receipt or institutional verification bonafide certificate
• Personal bank passbook showing Account Number, Bank Name, and IFSC (linked to NPCI mapper for DBT)