NEC Merit Scholarship 2020 - Full Details

NEC Merit Scholarship 2020: North Eastern Council (NEC) has released official notification for grant of NEC Merit Scholarship the Financial year 2020-21. Students of the North East (NE) Region undergoing studies in different disciplines at different levels in Institutions inside as well as outside the North-East but within the country can apply online.

NEC Merit Scholarship 2020 Full Details:

Name of scholarship: NEC Merit Scholarship
Financial year: 2020-21

Total no of scholarship: 1600
Awarding authority: North Eastern Council, Ministry of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India, Shillong.

NEC Merit Scholarship Eligibility Criteria:

◆ The scholarship is open only to a student who is a permanent resident of any of the North Eastern States.

◆ For candidates belonging to Academic Year 2020-21 and onwards, the scholarship under this scheme shall be disbursed only through National Scholarship Portal (NSP). However, the students, who already have been receiving scholarship before these rules coming into force, shall continue to receive their scholarships as per the prevailing procedure till end of their scholarships tenure.

◆ Once selected, the scholarship shall be available to a selected student for the prescribed duration of a course subject to fulfillment of renewal conditions, as specified under Para 6 of these rules. Extension of scholarship beyond the prescribed period of study will not be entertained.

◆ At the time of availing the scholarship, the student must not be in receipt of any other scholarship/financial assistance from any other source. A sponsored candidate under full employment during the period of study or working/in-service candidates shall not be eligible to receive the scholarship.



◆ A student shall only be considered for scholarship in the year of commencement of his/her course. For subsequent year of course, only renewal will be allowed.

◆ Scholarship shall be admissible to students who get admission in Diploma, Degree, Post-graduate or registration in M.Phil. / Ph.D courses of any institute recognized by the Government. The grant of scholarship for M.Phil and Ph.D would be after the registration of the students with the University. The Scholarship will not be available for internship or any practical training.

◆ The scholarship shall be admissible to the students whose parent / guardian’s annual income from all sources shall not exceed Rs 8.0 lakh. The income certificate issued by the competent authority shall be furnished by the candidate.

Educational Qualification for NEC Merit Scholarship:

The student must fulfill the following eligibility criteria in the previous qualifying examination for consideration of scholarship:

Level: Diploma
Qualifying examination: HSLC/HSSLC/Secondary School Leaving /Senior Secondary Leaving certificate examination from a recognised State/Central board with minimum 60% marks in aggregate.

Level: Degree
Qualifying examination: HSSLC/Senior Secondary Leaving certificate examination from a recognised State/Central board with minimum 60% marks in aggregate.

Level: Post Graduate
Qualifying examination: Degree level examination in any discipline (BA/BSc/BE/B Tech/MBBS/LLB/BCA/BBA etc. of any recognized Institute/ University with minimum 60% marks in aggregate.

Level: M.Phil./Ph.D
Qualifying examination: PG degree from any recognized University with minimum 60% marks in aggregate.

NEC Merit Scholarship Selection Process:

◆ The merit lists will be drawn from among finally verified applications as per the scheme guidelines and after following the laid down procedure on the NSP.

◆ Selection of students for M. Phil and Ph. D. will be done on the basis of topic of research/Synopsis which has relevance to the problems/issues related to NE Region. The Subjects/topics for M.Phil and Ph.D should invariably be directly, specifically and currently relevant to NE Region. Basic and theoretical research shall not be favoured in general.

◆ The scholarship is purely on merit basis. The merit list will be prepared exclusively on the basis of marks obtained by the candidate in the qualifying exams and complying with the level-of-course-wise slots allotted to the states.

NEC Merit Scholarship Amount:

● Diploma: 20,000/-p.a.
● Degree: 22,000/- p.a.
● Post graduate: 25,000/- p.a.
● M. Phil./Ph D: 30,000/- p.a.

Number of scholarship under NEC Merit Scholarship 2020:

The number of Fresh Scholarships to be awarded every year to candidates of different NER states at different levels may be as follows:



1. Arunachal Pradesh: 209 [Diploma: 20, Degree: 130, PG Degree: 52, M.Phil / PhD: 7 ]

2. Assam: 320 [Diploma: 30, Degree: 200, PG Degree: 80, M.Phil / PhD: 10 ]

3. Manipur: 192 [Diploma: 18, Degree: 120, PG Degree: 48, M.Phil / PhD: 6 ]

4. Meghalaya: 192 [Diploma: 18, Degree: 120, PG Degree: 48, M.Phil / PhD: 6 ]

5. Mizoram: 192 [Diploma: 18, Degree: 120, PG Degree: 48, M.Phil / PhD: 6 ]

6. Nagaland: 192 [Diploma: 18, Degree: 120, PG Degree: 48, M.Phil / PhD: 6 ]

7. Sikkim: 111 [Diploma: 10, Degree: 70, PG Degree: 28, M.Phil / PhD: 3]

8. Tripura: 192 [Diploma: 18, Degree: 120, PG Degree: 48, M.Phil / PhD: 6 ]

NEC Merit Scholarship Application Form:

◆ The applicants are required to fill up application form on National Scholarship Portal (NSP) (www.scholarships.in), within the prescribed date for receipt of application, following due procedure/guidelines mentioned thereon.
◆ They may also fill up the application form using NSP Mobile app or UMANG Mobile App. The applicants are, however, encouraged to apply at the earliest as it will provide them opportunity to make correction/updating etc. in their application, if suggested by the verification authority.

Documents to submitted for NEC Merit Scholarship Application:

The applicant must be in possession of following documents at the time of application. He/She may be asked to upload a scanned copy of these documents as per requirement or extant rules /guidelines.

a) Permanent Residential Certificate (PRC) issued by the Dy. Commissioner /Addl. Dy. Commissioners/ Sub-divisional officer of civil sub-divisions in NE States; except Sikkim where Certificate of Identification (COI) issued by the respective Deputy Commissioner in the Govt. of Sikkim to its Permanent residents. Certificate from any other authority will not be accepted. (Mandatory)

b) Income Certificate issued by the Competent Authority (Mandatory)

c) Bank Account Pass Book – Account must be in the name of applicant (Optional)

d) Details of qualifying examination (Mandatory)

e) Synopsis signed by the project guide / Director (Research) or any official authorized by the Institute/University in the case of M.Phil/Ph.D. candidates (Mandatory).

f) Any other document as may be required under NSP guidelines.

Important Date of NEC Merit Scholarship 2020:

Starting date of online application submission: 16th August, 2020
Last date of online application submission: 31st October, 2020.

FAQs on NEC Merit Scholarship 2020:

Q 1: Who are eligible to apply for the NEC Scholarship Scheme?

Ans: Students fulfilling the eligibility criteria of the scheme guidelines of NEC Merit Scholarship of Ministry of DoNER are eligible to apply for these scholarships. These are available on the National Scholarship Portal.

Q 2: Is there is any reservation / quota under the scheme?

Ans: There will not be any reservation/quota on the basis of category/religion/gender.

Q 3: Is there any income criteria under the scheme?

Ans: Yes, the scholarship shall be admissible to the students whose parent / guardian’s annual income from all sources shall not exceed Rs 8.0 lakh.

Q 4: What is the criterion for selection of students for scholarships?

Ans: The scholarship is purely on merit basis. The merit list will be prepared exclusively on the basis of marks obtained by the candidate in the qualifying exams and complying with the level-of-course-wise slots allotted to the states. Selection of students for M. Phil and Ph. D. will be done on the basis of topic of research/Synopsis which has relevance to the problems/issues related to NE Region.

Q 5: I have enrolled in M/Phil / PhD, but my topic is not finalized, can I apply for scholarships?

Ans: No, only students whose MPhil / PhD topic is submitted and are registered with that topic can apply for scholarship?

Q 6: I have got scholarship for the 1st year, will I automatically be provided scholarships in the subsequent years of my study?

Ans: No, all existing and eligible beneficiaries of the scholarship are required to fill up the renewal form on NSP every year during their entire course period. Every renewal of scholarship is for a period of one academic year only, if not otherwise specified.

Important Links:

Official Notification: ClickHere

FAQs: ClickHere

Online Application: ClickHere